Producing bricks from toxic milk to protect the environment

A city in southern China is considering the possibility of using contaminated milk powder as a raw material for brick production, to limit the risk of soil and water pollution.

The medical inspectors of Guangzhou province destroyed the contaminated milk.Photo: Reuters.

Guangzhou city officials set out on the plan after many centers handled garbage contaminated with melamine into rivers in early November, raising concerns that the city's water source would be contaminated. According to Wang Fan, director of Guangdong Food Safety Supervision Agency, toxic milk will be put into the kiln to form bricks and cement.

The cost of handling one ton of milk powder by producing bricks is about 700 yuan (US $ 105), 70% cheaper than the milk-burning method in the kiln at the garbage disposal center.

In addition to using powdered milk as a raw material for brick production, the Chinese government also allowed burying contaminated milk on the ground (at a cost of 200 yuan / ton), but controlled the quantity to prevent the risk of soil contamination. .

A total of 4 children died and more than 53,000 other children in China became ill from drinking milk and many dairy products were contaminated with melamine. The toxic milk crisis has pushed the dairy industry of the most populous country in the world into misery.