On January 4, the State Council, China's highest state administrative organ, unveiled the solid waste comprehensive management action plan, China's first policy document systematically outlining comprehensive treatment of solid waste. The action plan sets out detailed measures to improve resource utilization, enhance the source control and reduction of solid waste, regulate its collection, transportation and storage, and strengthen the capacity for safe disposal.

The category of solid waste also includes gaseous or liquid substances in containers. Treatment of solid waste is a global challenge and one of the most serious environmental issues facing the world today. Driven by accelerated urbanization, population growth and shifts in consumption patterns such as packaging-intensive lifestyles, the volumes of scrapped vehicles, household appliances, electronics, plastics and construction waste have risen sharply. This surge has led to significant resource wastage and created considerable environmental and health risks.

The Chinese Government issued this action plan based on the need to enhance resource utilization efficiency and improve people's wellbeing. According to the plan, by 2030, China is expected to achieve an annual bulk solid waste utilization volume of 4.5 billion tons, covering materials that are recovered, processed and reused; the annual recycling of major recyclable resources such as waste iron and steel, waste plastics and waste paper is targeted to reach 510 million tons. Bulk solid wastes are types of solid waste whose annual generation per category exceeds 100 million tons. They are a priority area for solid waste treatment.

Incomplete statistics showed that the total amount of solid waste generated in China is about 10 billion tons each year, with cumulative stored solid waste exceeding 60-70 billion tons. China has gained rich experience and achieved remarkable results in strengthening the resource utilization of solid waste. In the industrial sector, for instance, the comprehensive utilization rate of bulk solid wastes reached 59 percent in 2024; recycled copper and recycled aluminum accounted for 58.4 percent and 84.4 percent of domestic raw material supply, respectively, which have become important supplements for industrial production.

The action plan outlines 10 major tasks, including promoting source control and reduction through the implementation of environmental protection and energy conservation policies; enhancing resource utilization capacity by guiding producers of electric and electronic products, automobiles and power batteries to participate in recycling and utilization; improving the management and development of second-hand sales and remanufacturing industries; enhancing waste treatment capacity by planning the layout of municipal solid waste incineration facilities and coordinating the disposal of sludge and industrial solid waste; and conducting special campaigns against the illegal disposal of solid waste and promoting stricter governance of waste storage sites.

The action plan also emphasizes the need to strengthen the supervision of solid waste and promote real-time dynamic monitoring of hazardous waste throughout the entire waste management process.

In December 2023, the central authorities issued a guideline on promoting the building of a Beautiful China, which proposed accelerating the construction of waste-free cities, strengthening treatment of solid waste, restricting excessive packaging of products and implementing full-chain governance of plastic pollution. Waste-free cities are not cities that have no solid waste or cities that can recycle all of their solid waste. Rather, they represent an advanced urban management philosophy. Its goal is to ultimately minimize solid waste generation, maximize resource recovery and ensure safe disposal throughout the city.

A healthy ecological environment is the most inclusive benefit to people's wellbeing. Strengthening the comprehensive treatment of solid waste is an important measure to respond to public concerns and protect people's environmental rights, which is conducive to enhancing people's sense of gain, happiness and security. BR

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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