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H. Cheng
Canberra, Australia, became the first city in the world to set zero waste as an
official goal when it passed Act No Waste by 2010 in 1995. Thanks to economic and
social development and improvement of the waste management system, more and
more countries have adopted zero waste as a goal in urban planning. The world has
seen the emergence of organizations such as Zero Waste International Alliance, Zero
Waste Europe and the like. Eight cities, namely San Francisco of the United States,
Vancouver of Canada, Kamikatsu of Japan, Masdar City of the United Arab Emirates,
Capannori of Italy, Sydney of Australia, Ljubljana of Slovenia, and Auckland of
New Zealand, have been going zero waste. The United States Conference of Mayors
adopted a resolution in support of municipal zero waste principles in 2015. The theme
of the 2017 UN Environment Assembly was “Towards a Pollution Free Planet.” In
2018, 23 cities from around the world issued a joint declaration on building zero
waste cities.
China can mainly draw the following lessons from the experience of other
countries in building zero-waste cities:
(1) Waste management is the foundation of zero-waste cities. Most cities, before
committing to the goal of zero waste, had performed sound waste management
for decades and even over a century, and established a complete government-led
waste management system in which producers took extended responsibility,
household waste was classified, and dedicated waste disposal services were
in place to collect, transport and dispose of wastes. With a well-established
waste management system, most cities we studied are able to cover all relevant
expenditures with the waste disposal fees they collect, forming a fully viable
waste management model.
(2) The hierarchy of “rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, and material recovery” should
be followed. Sample cities encourage waste producers (e.g. enterprises and
households) to take the responsibility to avoid and reduce waste generation and
there are waste recycling or reuse centers. Household waste can be donated or
traded at secondhand markets, on e-commerce sites and through other channels.
Reuse and recycling rates are set for construction and industrial waste to ensure
their reuse and recycling. The cities have also established composting plants,
incineration plants, landfills and other facilities to dispose of waste. Some cities
collaborate in waste management to cut cost.
(3) Market players and specialized institutions should be encouraged to participate in waste management. In view of the complicated process of waste
collection, transportation and disposal, the governments of sample cities made
good use of market capital and specialized services for better waste management. San Francisco, for example, engaged Recology, a waste management
company with over 100 years of history, to place trash cans, and collect and
handle household waste, including recycling, incineration and landfill. The city
also worked together with Recology to design waste management schemes. In
Vancouver, the government is responsible for collecting and disposing of unrecyclable household waste, while Recycle BC, a waste management company,
is engaged for recyclables. Private enterprises and not-for-profit organizations
H. Cheng
Canberra, Australia, became the first city in the world to set zero waste as an
official goal when it passed Act No Waste by 2010 in 1995. Thanks to economic and
social development and improvement of the waste management system, more and
more countries have adopted zero waste as a goal in urban planning. The world has
seen the emergence of organizations such as Zero Waste International Alliance, Zero
Waste Europe and the like. Eight cities, namely San Francisco of the United States,
Vancouver of Canada, Kamikatsu of Japan, Masdar City of the United Arab Emirates,
Capannori of Italy, Sydney of Australia, Ljubljana of Slovenia, and Auckland of
New Zealand, have been going zero waste. The United States Conference of Mayors
adopted a resolution in support of municipal zero waste principles in 2015. The theme
of the 2017 UN Environment Assembly was “Towards a Pollution Free Planet.” In
2018, 23 cities from around the world issued a joint declaration on building zero
waste cities.
China can mainly draw the following lessons from the experience of other
countries in building zero-waste cities:
(1) Waste management is the foundation of zero-waste cities. Most cities, before
committing to the goal of zero waste, had performed sound waste management
for decades and even over a century, and established a complete government-led
waste management system in which producers took extended responsibility,
household waste was classified, and dedicated waste disposal services were
in place to collect, transport and dispose of wastes. With a well-established
waste management system, most cities we studied are able to cover all relevant
expenditures with the waste disposal fees they collect, forming a fully viable
waste management model.
(2) The hierarchy of “rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, and material recovery” should
be followed. Sample cities encourage waste producers (e.g. enterprises and
households) to take the responsibility to avoid and reduce waste generation and
there are waste recycling or reuse centers. Household waste can be donated or
traded at secondhand markets, on e-commerce sites and through other channels.
Reuse and recycling rates are set for construction and industrial waste to ensure
their reuse and recycling. The cities have also established composting plants,
incineration plants, landfills and other facilities to dispose of waste. Some cities
collaborate in waste management to cut cost.
(3) Market players and specialized institutions should be encouraged to participate in waste management. In view of the complicated process of waste
collection, transportation and disposal, the governments of sample cities made
good use of market capital and specialized services for better waste management. San Francisco, for example, engaged Recology, a waste management
company with over 100 years of history, to place trash cans, and collect and
handle household waste, including recycling, incineration and landfill. The city
also worked together with Recology to design waste management schemes. In
Vancouver, the government is responsible for collecting and disposing of unrecyclable household waste, while Recycle BC, a waste management company,
is engaged for recyclables. Private enterprises and not-for-profit organizations