Story By: Lee Bullen,Sub Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Asia Wire Report 

Over 42,000 metric tonnes of black pollutants have been excavated from the edge of one of China’s biggest deserts and the local authorities suspect it was dumped by a paper company.

The thick, black waste sites were found by a group of environmental volunteers on the edge of the Tengger Desert in an area that had been forested for paper, according to reports.

The volunteers were carrying out research near the Shapotou National Nature Reserve in Zhongwei located in the north-central Chinese autonomous region of Ningxia.

Reports said that over 42,000 metric tonnes of contaminants have been excavated and sealed in waterproof bags.

Once the local authorities confirm where the waste came from, the bags will be disposed of.

An unnamed Zhongwei government official told local media that the pollutants were left by the paper company Meili before they went bankrupt and abandoned the site.

The local authorities said that emergency disposal guidelines have been drafted by environmental experts while samples of the contaminants have been sent to Shanghai for tests.

In an online statement, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said they had sent a team of experts to the scene.

The investigation is ongoing.

The Tengger Desert is China’s fourth largest and is mainly situated in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia and the province of Gansu, but also borders Zhongwei.

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