In a novel method to process garbage, the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou is planning to build a black soldier fly farm to help rid the city of its kitchen waste.
The fly larvae raised at the farm are expected to eat 200 to 400 tonnes of rubbish each day, the urban management commission of Guangzhou told state-run Xinhua news agency.
The farm will be located in China Town under Huadu District and will mainly process garbage produced by the city's restaurants and household kitchens, the commission said.
"Local researchers have mastered the use of insects for restaurant waste disposal and are working to apply it to family kitchen waste," said Zhang Xing, an official with the recycling cooperative of Huadu District.
China's rapidly growing cities have faced a pile-up of household waste, and traditional disposal measures such as landfills and incineration have faced increasing concerns over air and soil pollution.
Researchers say the fly larvae have shown prowess in dealing with organic waste, including food leftovers and animal dung.
The larvae are also rich in protein and can be made into medicine and animal feed.
