Ｓａｖｉｎｇ　Ｅｎｅｒｇｙ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｍｉｙｕｎ　Ｅｃｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌ　Ｉｎｄｕｓｔｒｉａｌ　Ｐ.docVIP

Ｓａｖｉｎｇ　Ｅｎｅｒｇｙ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｍｉｙｕｎ　Ｅｃｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌ　Ｉｎｄｕｓｔｒｉａｌ　Ｐ 　　IN the courtyard of Beijing Renchuang Technology Co., Ltd. the ground is covered with colorful water-permeable bricks ― the same bricks that have been used in Olympic venues such as the “Bird’s Nest,” “the Water Cube” and Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. Renchuang is located in an eco-industrial park in Miyun County on Beijing’s outskirts. Office supervisor Yang Shihu explains, “Our company holds the patent on the ecological brick both in China and abroad. The permeated rainwater is used as a coolant on production lines, or for landscape irrigation.” 　　According to Yang, although Beijing lacks regular rain, the water collected via the permeable paving is enough to meet the entire factory’s demand for water used in production. This is made possible not only by the bricks, but also an associated rainwater gathering and recycling system, involving over 200 meters of pipeline and three cisterns capable of holding 700 cubic meters of water. “These recycling measures can save up to 1,800 tons of water a month, and RMB 100,000 in water rates annually,” Yang claims proudly. 　　 　　As construction in the Miyun Economic Development Zone has intensified, enterprises in the area have successively adopted a multitude of effective measures to save water. For instance, the Yili Group’s Beijing Dairy Plant used to be a water guzzler. In 2007, the plant invested RMB 50,000 in innovative technology to gather condensed water from the workshops. This is then used for washing the toilets and garbage rooms, reducing water charges by RMB 140,000 a year. 　　There are now three enterprises in the area equipped with rainwater collecting systems, saving some 40,000 tons of water annually. Many corporations have also updated their sprinkler irrigation systems, and the eco-industrial park has updated its cooling systems so that the condensed water is recycled, saving 160,000 tons of water annually. 　　 　　A Goal of “Zero Discharge”