China’s synthetic school running tracks made of industrial waste such as old rubber tyres and cables, says state TV

Synthetic school running tracks in China – the focus of a series of public health scares – are being made from industrial waste including old rubber tyres and discarded cables, mainland media report.

Dozens of unlicensed small mills in Baoding and Cangzhou in Hebei province, about 200km away from Beijing, were found to have been using discarded rubber tyres, old cables and other waste as the raw materials for making the tracks, according to an investigative report broadcast by the state TV broadcaster, CCTV.

The mills were supplying the materials for construction companies that build tracks in and outside the province, including the capital, Beijing, the report said, quoting construction workers.

The mills producing the raw materials for the tracks were using scrap industrial waste to cut costs and achieve higher profit margins, the report said.

At one small mill about 20km away from Cangzhou, the manufacturing site looked like a waste dump, with piles of industrial waste giving off an acrid smell, the report said.

The report has triggered a fresh wave of angry comments on mainland social media, with some people asking what regulators have been doing to allow such problems to escalate.