Bursting of firecrackers in Beijing during the recent Chinese lunar new year festival created over 180 tonnes of waste.

Setting off firecrackers is believed to be dispel misfortune and evil, but 282 cities banned the use of crackers in the 1980s over safety concerns, China Daily reported.

The Beijing municipal government, however, lifted a 12-year ban in 2005.

More than 5,000 sweepers worked during the holiday to keep the city clean, said an official with the Beijing Environmental Sanitation Engineering Group.

Water-tank trailers were kept on standby in case of fires every day during the weekly celebrations Jan 22-28.

There were, however, no statistics on how much firecrackers waste was left in rural areas across the country.