China's Urban Sludge Dilemma: Sinking in Stink

Promptly at noon on March 17, a heavy truck hauling a dark substance and on a dark mission pulled out of the Gaobeidian Wastewater Treatment Plant in eastern Beijing.

A wastewater treatment engineer helped a Caixin reporter identify the unusual load, which jiggled in the truck's bed like gelatin as the driver headed down a bumpy road.