It is still unclear how these fire ants, which were originally toiling in distant South America, appeared in Wuchuan and other places. However, since there are many waste recycling stations near Zhucheng, Nakong and Daling villages in Wuchuan, which are seriously infested by ants, and the waste comes from domestic and even overseas, many local villagers believe that this time the ant infestation came from these sources. Unknown scrap may be the culprit.
“We didn’t have this kind of ants here before, but since there was this big waste recycling station in the village, there have been this kind of strange ants.” Mr. Lu from Daling Village pointed to the village. A nearby waste recycling station told reporters. According to him, this acquisition station was established three or four years ago, and red imported fire ants appeared around that time.
Only 200 meters away from the village, a waste recycling station with an area the size of a football field is really eye-catching. The reporter got closer and found that the waste piled up in the site was basically divided into two categories. One was various plastic products that locals called "hard materials", and the other was various fiber woven bags and rag strips. The local People call it "soft material". But for some reason, the door of the purchasing station was locked and no one was there. At the head of Daling Village, there is also a large-scale waste recycling yard. In addition to what the locals call "hard materials" and "soft materials", there are also many glass bottles and jars accumulated in the site. Likewise, the venue was closed and no one was there.
Nothing is unique. In Nakong Village, where ants are seriously infested, reporters also discovered many recycling bins. On both sides of a road adjacent to the village, less than 200 meters away, the reporter did a rough count and found that there were at least 15 buying stations. But unlike the closed doors of Daling Village, business is still busy here.
It is reported that these waste products purchased from various places are first roughly classified according to different materials, then simply cleaned with washing powder, and finally broken into fine particles by machines. These processed and broken small particles (called "raw materials" by locals) are then processed into appropriate colors, dried in the sun, and then sold to local plastic processing plants. After manufacturers process these raw materials to a certain extent, they produce various plastic products and eventually flow to the market.
The reporter saw at a recycling station in Nakong Village that mainly recycles plastic products. In a simple room, workers were nervously operating two machines to crush and process the recovered plastic products into fine particles. In the open space outside, there are workers drying the processed "raw materials". According to its staff, due to the recent increase in plastic prices, the sales of processed "raw materials" from recycling stations have been good. In addition to being sold directly to local manufacturers of plastic products, many are also sold to manufacturers in neighboring provinces. After the raw materials are sold, there is usually a profit of several hundred yuan per ton.
The reporter found that from time to time, vehicles from various places loaded with scraps came to and from Nakong Village to unload their goods. From the busy figures of workers at various collection stations, it seemed that the scrap recycling business was indeed good.