Procuratorates across China handled 122,345 public interest litigation cases related to environment protection and food safety between July 2020 and June 2021, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Thursday.

Statistics by the SPP showed that procuratorates nationwide also issued 106,192 pre-prosecution suggestions in the 12 months to departments involved. They had also brought 8,287 public interest litigation cases to courts in the same period.

A three-year campaign, code-named "Public Interest Litigation Safeguarding Good Life", was launched in July 2020. It focuses on prominent problems related to environment protection and food and drug safety.

Of the 122,345 public interest litigation cases, 14,588 dealt with water pollution and problems related to drinking water safety and water ecology. About 308,800 mu (20,587 hectares) of polluted water area was cleaned, and over 873,400 mu of polluted water sources area was cleaned and restored as a result of the handling of the cases, the SPP said.

In the 12 months, procuratorates nationwide also handled 22,439 public interest litigation cases related to household and solid waste, which facilitated the clearing of 3.85 million tonnes of household trash and nearly 6.39 million tonnes of solid waste, said the SPP.

In the same period, procuratorates across China also handled 13,883 public interest litigation cases related to food safety, which facilitated the investigation and confiscation of 330,300 kg of counterfeit and poor quality food, according to the SPP.