Costly Chinese ecological park being used by locals as giant rubbish dump

An ecological wetland park being built at a cost of billions of yuan in eastern China is being turned into a huge rubbish dump.

The Shangqinhuai wetland park, in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, was once hailed as “the green lung of Nanjing” when the plans were first made public in 2012, Yangtze Evening Post reported.

But residents have discovered that a lack of supervision at the site means it can be freely used as a dumping site for household waste and rubble from construction sites.

Up to 30 billion yuan (HK$34 billion) is reportedly being invested in creating the state-level ecological park. The first stage of the project was due to have been completed in September, the report said.

A reporter discovered piles of rubbish in the park, including discarded household items and construction waste, such as paint tins and plastic bags, during a visit on October 11.