Road and bridge dismantling boss becomes a major nursery stock grower, environmental remediation spawns a new industry

In Fengjiang Subdistrict, Luqiao District, there is a 350-mu forest, green as far as the eye can see, where a batch of precious tree species has taken root in this sea of trees. What is unexpected is that Dai Mingdan, chairman of Meixin Horticultural Nursery Stock Co., Ltd., who cultivated this forest, actually came from the dismantling industry. Dai Mingdan, 40 this year, once ran a chemical trading company engaged in recycled metal recovery and trade.

His mid-career switch has to start with the "blood lead" incident in Fengjiang in April last year.

Luqiao District turns more than 2 million tons of scrap metal into treasure every year. The dismantling industry's gross output value accounts for one-fifth of the district's total industrial economy, and it has nurtured many entrepreneurs like Dai Mingdan. However, the dismantling industry is also highly prone to secondary pollution.

In recent years, Luqiao District has carried out environmental remediation many times. After the "Fengjiang blood lead" incident, Luqiao conducted a comprehensive and thorough overhaul of heavy-metal-related industries, metal smelting industries, and solid waste dismantling industries, and took this as a breakthrough for transformation and upgrading. Driven by the pressure of environmental remediation and his love of horticulture, Dai Mingdan decided to switch careers to nursery stock cultivation.

In December last year, he transferred 400 mu of land in Fupai Village and Tingyu Village, and introduced precious tree species such as nanmu, rosewood, and bamboo-leaf podocarpus. "A bamboo-leaf podocarpus with a diameter of five or six cm currently sells for 700 yuan. In 3 years, when it grows to 10 cm, it can sell for more than 1,000 yuan. This is growing money!" Dai Mingdan said full of confidence, adding that this year he also wants to contract another 500 to 1,000 mu of land to expand the business.

Right now, more than 1.2 million osmanthus, red photinia, and camellia sasanqua are densely planted as cuttings under the trees. "Once the cuttings survive, that will be another considerable income." Dai Mingdan said with a smile, "The nursery stock industry can earn no less than dismantling."

In Luqiao, there are several other bosses who have transformed from dismantling bosses into "green, beautiful, and rich" bosses.

"This has obviously become a trend." said Lin Huiqing, deputy director of the subdistrict office. Last year, Fengjiang proposed to build a 10,000-mu flower and nursery stock base within 5 years. At present, more than 2,000 mu of land has been transferred for the nursery stock industry, and another 2,540 mu will be added this year. To encourage more people to become "green, beautiful, and rich," Luqiao District regularly invites agriculture and forestry experts to conduct training.

Dai Mingdan has many ideas about this new career: "In addition to doing horticulture, we can also develop tourism in the future." Because the newly transferred more than 50 mu of land is close to villagers' homes, Dai Mingdan turned this land into an osmanthus forest to make the air fresher.