“collection in village, transfer from town, disposal in prefecture.” However, there are
three major problems with this household waste disposal system.
First, all the waste discharged in an area is processed at the prefecture’s landfill or
incinerator. There is a shortage of final disposal sites, creating a heavy burden on
prefectures, which must construct new processing facilities with large processing
capacity. For example, the household waste collection and disposal system in
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region covers more than 90% of villages, but the
amount of waste collected has already exceeded the capacity of the landfill disposal
site in the prefecture. By 2020, 138 new incineration sites will be constructed. In
Qian’an County, Hebei Province, nine landfill sites were constructed in 2009, but
four were closed in 2017 after their disposal capacity was reached. Opposition to
waste incineration facilities is common, due to problems such as air pollution and
odors emanating from the facilities.
Second, such disposal systems place a heavy financial burden on municipalities in
rural areas, which are not economically wealthy, due to high transportation costs. In
Tangshan City, Hebei Province, the total area of the city is 1439 km
2 , the rural
population is approximately 200,000 (population density is low), and the financial
income in 2016 was only 1.01 billion CNY. Due to lack of funds, the salaries of
waste collection workers are low, and the operation and maintenance status of
facilities, cleaning, and transportation are insufficient.
Third, in some areas, non-standardized landfill disposal and incineration facilities
are in operation, causing environmental pollution. In order to solve the lack of funds
for the disposal of household waste in rural areas, small-scale waste incineration
facilities and simple landfills are used to dispose of household waste. However, a
lack of environmental technology related to waste disposal, improper management
and operation, and inappropriate supervision systems for waste disposal are causing
pollution.
The processing system of “collection in village, transfer from town, disposal in
prefecture” does not exploit the recycling value of household waste in rural areas nor
the socio-economic characteristics of such areas. The current situation is that the
waste is simply collected in one place and then discharged or landfilled, which does
not contribute to waste reduction and increased recycling.
18.3 Pujiang Rural Household Waste Disposal System
Pujiang County is in the southern part of China and belongs to Jinhua City in
Zhejiang Province. It has an area of 920 km
2 , a population of approximately
390,000 people (490,000 including the floating population). In Pujiang, there are
seven towns, five villages, and three subdistricts. It is divided into 409 administrative
villages and 20 communities (housing complexes). In 2016, nominal GDP reached
21.1 billion CNY, and nominal GDP per capita was approximately 50,000 CNY
(~8300 USD). The urbanization rate was 60%, which is the average level in China;
Pujiang is representative of rural-urban fringe areas.
18 Building a Recycling-Oriented Society Through Collaboration Between Urban and. . . 323
three major problems with this household waste disposal system.
First, all the waste discharged in an area is processed at the prefecture’s landfill or
incinerator. There is a shortage of final disposal sites, creating a heavy burden on
prefectures, which must construct new processing facilities with large processing
capacity. For example, the household waste collection and disposal system in
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region covers more than 90% of villages, but the
amount of waste collected has already exceeded the capacity of the landfill disposal
site in the prefecture. By 2020, 138 new incineration sites will be constructed. In
Qian’an County, Hebei Province, nine landfill sites were constructed in 2009, but
four were closed in 2017 after their disposal capacity was reached. Opposition to
waste incineration facilities is common, due to problems such as air pollution and
odors emanating from the facilities.
Second, such disposal systems place a heavy financial burden on municipalities in
rural areas, which are not economically wealthy, due to high transportation costs. In
Tangshan City, Hebei Province, the total area of the city is 1439 km
2 , the rural
population is approximately 200,000 (population density is low), and the financial
income in 2016 was only 1.01 billion CNY. Due to lack of funds, the salaries of
waste collection workers are low, and the operation and maintenance status of
facilities, cleaning, and transportation are insufficient.
Third, in some areas, non-standardized landfill disposal and incineration facilities
are in operation, causing environmental pollution. In order to solve the lack of funds
for the disposal of household waste in rural areas, small-scale waste incineration
facilities and simple landfills are used to dispose of household waste. However, a
lack of environmental technology related to waste disposal, improper management
and operation, and inappropriate supervision systems for waste disposal are causing
pollution.
The processing system of “collection in village, transfer from town, disposal in
prefecture” does not exploit the recycling value of household waste in rural areas nor
the socio-economic characteristics of such areas. The current situation is that the
waste is simply collected in one place and then discharged or landfilled, which does
not contribute to waste reduction and increased recycling.
18.3 Pujiang Rural Household Waste Disposal System
Pujiang County is in the southern part of China and belongs to Jinhua City in
Zhejiang Province. It has an area of 920 km
2 , a population of approximately
390,000 people (490,000 including the floating population). In Pujiang, there are
seven towns, five villages, and three subdistricts. It is divided into 409 administrative
villages and 20 communities (housing complexes). In 2016, nominal GDP reached
21.1 billion CNY, and nominal GDP per capita was approximately 50,000 CNY
(~8300 USD). The urbanization rate was 60%, which is the average level in China;
Pujiang is representative of rural-urban fringe areas.
18 Building a Recycling-Oriented Society Through Collaboration Between Urban and. . . 323