Garbage Man from Tulip Kingdom

By ZHOU CHAO

Henry’s college major was in Environmental Engineering. Sponsored by the Dutch government, at the end of 2001 he came to Wuhan to help develop garbage “power”. His ultimate plan is to build four landfills. One is already in use and daily handles 950 tons of wastes. Methane gas enters the firedamp dynamotor through pipes, generating electricity for the dump and also the city power grid.

Henry doesn’t mind being a garbage man as it makes him closer to Chinese manual laborers. Before coming to China he worked in Canada and England. During his two years in Wuhan his main source of conflict with his fellow workers has been over preferred methods of digging the firedamp pit. The factory administration prefers it to be done manually, whereas Henry thinks it should be done mechanically.

Henry loves Chinese culture and cuisine, especially Wuhan reganmein, or Hot-dry noodle. He fondly describes his household as comprising, “…three dogs, a cat, a Dutchman (himself) and an Australian (his girlfriend).” Since moving to Wuhan, Henry has returned to Holland each year to spend Christmas with parents and returned for a romantic Yuandan (New Year) with girlfriend. His aim is to acquaint the people of Wuhan with the rational use of waste resources as a source of power.