A stone quarry has been closed down for painting rocks green to fool officials into thinking it was doing its bit to help the environment.
The plant, in eastern China’s Shandong province, got into trouble after an on-the-spot inspection found its efforts to go green amounted to no more than spray paint.
The Changsheng Mining Industry Company has been told to close production down and been given a month to remove the painted rocks from the site.
Environment officials in the nearby city of Xintai acted after its inspectors took a closer look at the site and realised what appeared to be green grass and trees were actually painted rocks.
Quarry bosses reportedly told workers to paint the rocks green last year to meet environmental requirements designed to protect the countryside.
Local media reports that a sign has been put up on the site gates announcing that production had been temporarily suspended.
However, local journalists said a steady stream of lorries going to and from the plant suggested this too might be a deception.
In an effort to minimise the environmental damage caused by China’s rapid industrial growth, central and local governments have introduced as wide range of environmental requirements.
These are back up by surprise on-the-spot checks, such as the one which caught out the Changsheng Mining Industry Company’s plant.
Last year, more than 42,000 individuals and companies were prosecuted nationally for environmental offences and issued with fines totalling 15.28 billion RMB (1.8 billion GBP).
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Story By: Simon Glover, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder,  Agency: Asia Wire Report
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