On the morning of September 5, 2017, Jingmen Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department and Jingmen GEM New Material Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as GEM Jingmen) jointly launched the Public Visit Day to accept public visit, eliminate violations, return tranquility to citizens and combat pollution. Participants of this event included Ou Xiaoping, the deputy director of Jingmen Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department, Fu Zhenghong, the deputy head of Jingmen Environmental Protection Bureau, Li Xinmin, the vice president of China Association of Circular Economy, Zhang Yanhui, the deputy secretary general of China National Resources Recycling Association, journalists from People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Environment News, China Securities News, nbd.com, Hubei Daily, China Hubei TV, Hubei Voice, Jingmen Daily, Jingmen TV, Jingmen Evening News, jmnews.cn, hb.qq.com, jmbbs.com, Jingmen on Cloud, jmyan.com, as well as environmental protection supervisors and nearby residents. The event was presided over by Zou Runian, the deputy head of Duodao District, Jingmen High-tech Zone.

Before the event, Zhang Yunhe, the dean of GEM Waste Recycling and New Energy Materials Research Institute, led the guests to visit GEM "Urban Mine" Museum, Chinese National WEEE Recycling Engineering Research Center, the Environmental Management Control Center, the electronic waste processing and production line, the ternary power battery material manufacturing center, the wastewater treatment station, the waste battery pretreatment workshop, the raw material preparation center, the reclaimed water circulation system. They also witnessed the dismantling process of coal-fired chimneys.

After the visit, the deputy general manager of GEM Lu Xijin publicly announced the Environmental Management Report of GEM Jingmen, indicating that GEM Jingmen needs hold a correct attitude towards residents’ complaints and requests, dare to admit the truth and shortcomings, take responsibilities to make corrections and shut down under-developed facilities, improve the capacity of environmental harnessing, accept public supervision and announce environmental information across the board. These measures are taken as a symbol of GEM’s determination and courage for environmental harnessing. Environmental protection supervisors and resident representatives made speeches separately, sharing their feelings of GEM’s environmental harnessing efforts in the view of the public as well as the improvement of surroundings. Speeches were also made by Li Xinmin, the vice president of China Association of Circular Economy, and Zhang Yanhui, the deputy secretary general of China National Resources Recycling Association, who spoke highly of the contributions made by GEM to the technological advancement of China’s recycling economy.

Li Xinmin also indicated that GEM is one of China’s best waste recycling companies with core technologies, and also a symbolic company for the development of China’s recycling economy. GEM has built a large-scaled and profitable recycling factory for small waste batteries, making it a key enterprise in waste battery treatment. The automatic pollution-free processing and production line of electronic wastes of GEM plays a critical role in leading China’s e-waste treatment industry to develop in a large-scaled, pollution-free and information-based way. As an exemplary leader in China’s recycling economy, GEM has made remarkable contribution to boost the industrial advancement normatively, healthily and sustainably.

“After inspecting various advanced recycling factory across the globe, GEM still leads the industry not only domestically, but also globally, especially its e-waste resource utilization technology, waste battery recycling technology, and ternary battery material re-manufacturing technology,” said Zhang Yanhui, the deputy secretary general of China National Resources Recycling Association, “Therefore, we saw the GEM mode as the mode for technologically-innovation-based resource recycling companies in the sum-up meeting of advanced recycling economy modes and cases. The efficient, clean and safe utilization of wastes requires not only the practice and exploration of many companies, but also a ton of capital, technological and workforce investments. It is exactly the unremitting explorations and practical innovations made by companies like GEM that have driven China’s recycling technology to the globally advanced level. The social responsibility report released by GEM fully discloses the environmental information and accepts social supervision. This is a major progress achieved not only by the renewable resource industry, but also by China’s environmental protection industry!”

In the field QA section, journalists from various media agencies asked questions about GEM’s environmental protection system management, how they handle resident complaints, and their future plan of environmental management. Lu Xijin and Ouyang Mingzhi who are deputy general managers of GEM, Huang Mao, GEM’s environmental harnessing expert, Liu Tao, the deputy general manager of GEM Jingmen, the representative from Jingmen Environmental Protection Bureau, and environmental protection supervisors, gave answers to those questions. They said the company will hold a correct attitude towards residents’ complaints and requests, dare to admit the truth and shortcomings, take responsibilities to make corrections and shut down under-developed facilities, improve the capacity of environmental harnessing, continuously construct new environmental facilities, and minimize discharges and emissions. In the next three years, GEM will make another investment of RMB 500 million to build a smoke-free, odorless, and harmless recycling factory in an all-around manner, thus truly following the President Xi’s guidance of “turning wastes into resources and making things possible”. They also committed that GEM would insist on transparent operation in environmental protection undertakings, fully disclose environmental information, voluntarily accept social supervision, and hold on to the last.

Finally, the event culminated in the swearing of all the one thousand employees to accept public visit, eliminate violations, return tranquility to citizens, combat pollution, and built a world-leading smoke-free, odorless, and harmless recycling factory featuring clean and smart operation!

Figure 1 All stakeholders were visiting the electronic waste treatment workshop

Figure 2 Lu Xijin, the deputy general manager of GEM, announced the environmental management report of GEM Jingmen

Figure 3 A representative of environmental protection supervisors was making a speech

Figure 4 A resident representative was making a speech

Figure 5 Zhang Yanhui, the deputy secretary general of China National Resources Recycling Association, was making a speech

Figure 6 Li Xinmin, the vice president of China Association of Circular Economy, was making a speech

Figure 7 Field communication and Q&A

Figure 8 The solemn swearing of a thousand employees

Figure 9 The site of dismantling coal-fired chimneys