From scenic wonder to dump site: Massive amounts of trash discovered in these spectacular Chinese caves
In an area of China whose landscape was the inspiration for James Cameron’s Avatar viral videos of caves with heaps of trash have sparked outrage.
The majestic landscape of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, with its stunning sandstone pillars ascending high into the misty sky and topped by pines trees, was the inspiration for James Cameron’s alien landscape in ‘Avatar’. However, recently the area is in the news for something much less spectacular, heaps of trash discovered in a number of caves.
Viral videos posted online by spelunkers showing all forms of domestic waste and animal manure sparked outrage across China. That has prompted local authorities to start a cleanup effort with roughly 51 tons of garbage already removed.
How did the Zhangjiajie caves become trash dumps?
The desecration of the karst caves in central China began in 2010 when the local government banned the practice of burning trash but didn’t give residents any alternative method of disposing of their garbage. Over the subsequent five years it became a regular, organized practice to dump waste into the caves.
Investigations of 206 caves in the region have revealed that two thirds of them have been contaminated with garbage. Although officials say that the drinking water in the region has been found to be safe, there are concerns that the ground water has been contaminated. Cleanup efforts had to be suspended temporarily after toxic and flammable gases were detected.
Chinese authorities crackdown on those responsible
So far four officials have been suspended over the scandal. Authorities are also investigating 12 livestock farms for illegally discharging wastewater. The region is a major producer of pork with some 700,000 pigs raised annually.
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