China uses deodorant cannons on rotting waste

Beijing is waging war against the stench of its growing rubbish tips.

The city is sending over 100 deodorant cannons to blast the capital's surrounding landfills with stench-neutralising liquids as the rubbish begins to rot in the warmer weather.

They were invented by employees at the Gao'antun Garbage Landfill Plant, in Beijing's suburbs.

It followed apologies from local officials for the foul smells coming from the garbage dump, who promised to tackle the problem.

Other devices such as odour eating sheets are also being used, along with a machine that extracts the foul-smelling gases and uses them to generate electricity.

The cannons, officially termed "high pressure long-range deodorant sprays", blast a liquid created from plant extract onto waste arriving at the site.

The biological compound neutralises the smell, its creators say, and the cannons can reach up to 15 metres away.

The frangrance-covered rubbish is then buried under odour-eating covering sheets and further deodorant is sprayed on top.

Beijing's 17.5 million residents daily produce 18,400 tonnes of household garbage, 90 per cent of which is dumped in the 13 landfills dispersed around the city.