376
H. Cheng
period, the solid waste treatment industry is expected to expand from 10%
of the entire environmental protection market to about 25% and investment
in China’s solid waste treatment industry will exceed RMB 3.5 trillion. The
market size of construction waste treatment in China, for example, exceeded
RMB 80 billion in 2017, twice the size of 2010, registering an annual growth
rate of more than 10% on average. If the market continues to grow at the current
rate, by 2020, China’s construction waste treatment market will worth more
than RMB 100 billion.
4 Advice on Building Zero-Waste Cities in China
Zero-waste cities cannot be built overnight, as they involve various processes. We
shall start with pilot programs, make overall plans, and advance the efforts in an
integrated and coordinated manner. Recommendations are as follows:
(1) Integrate the building of zero-waste cities into the efforts to build an ecological civilization in urban areas. Zero-waste city represents a full-blown green
transformation involving the development of circular economy in the development of an urban ecological civilization. It requires both transition from a
linear model to a circular model in production and the transition from excessive consumption to green consumption. Therefore, we need to integrate zerowaste targets into the evaluation system for building an ecological civilization,
and consider the building of zero-waste cities an important way to achieve
ecological progress in cities. We must coordinate our efforts to improve overall
management of solid waste with the supply-side structural reform in cities as
well as the overall urban development and management, so as to accelerate
the formation of a sound spatial distribution pattern of various functions in
cities, a better industrial structure, and eco-friendly models of agricultural and
industrial production and consumption, so as to boost green development in
cities.
(2) Promote green production in agriculture and industry to reduce solid waste
and maximize recycling. To reduce waste at the source, green mining shall be
promoted to reduce new solid mining waste and the stock of such waste to
be disposed of. To reduce waste generated in production activities, we need to
reduce resource inputs and the content of hazardous substances in raw materials
by promoting shared standards and eco-friendly product design, and encourage
recycling through green design and green supply chains. For waste reduction in
the utilization of resources, we should promote recycling of bulk solid waste,
and gradually achieve comprehensive utilization of animal waste at or near
the places where they are produced. In waste disposal, efforts should be made
to maximize recycling, and non-recyclable waste should be disposed of in an
environmentally sound manner.
(3) Use market mechanisms to unleash the vitality of market players and foster
new models of industrial development. Flexible and diverse market forces are
H. Cheng
period, the solid waste treatment industry is expected to expand from 10%
of the entire environmental protection market to about 25% and investment
in China’s solid waste treatment industry will exceed RMB 3.5 trillion. The
market size of construction waste treatment in China, for example, exceeded
RMB 80 billion in 2017, twice the size of 2010, registering an annual growth
rate of more than 10% on average. If the market continues to grow at the current
rate, by 2020, China’s construction waste treatment market will worth more
than RMB 100 billion.
4 Advice on Building Zero-Waste Cities in China
Zero-waste cities cannot be built overnight, as they involve various processes. We
shall start with pilot programs, make overall plans, and advance the efforts in an
integrated and coordinated manner. Recommendations are as follows:
(1) Integrate the building of zero-waste cities into the efforts to build an ecological civilization in urban areas. Zero-waste city represents a full-blown green
transformation involving the development of circular economy in the development of an urban ecological civilization. It requires both transition from a
linear model to a circular model in production and the transition from excessive consumption to green consumption. Therefore, we need to integrate zerowaste targets into the evaluation system for building an ecological civilization,
and consider the building of zero-waste cities an important way to achieve
ecological progress in cities. We must coordinate our efforts to improve overall
management of solid waste with the supply-side structural reform in cities as
well as the overall urban development and management, so as to accelerate
the formation of a sound spatial distribution pattern of various functions in
cities, a better industrial structure, and eco-friendly models of agricultural and
industrial production and consumption, so as to boost green development in
cities.
(2) Promote green production in agriculture and industry to reduce solid waste
and maximize recycling. To reduce waste at the source, green mining shall be
promoted to reduce new solid mining waste and the stock of such waste to
be disposed of. To reduce waste generated in production activities, we need to
reduce resource inputs and the content of hazardous substances in raw materials
by promoting shared standards and eco-friendly product design, and encourage
recycling through green design and green supply chains. For waste reduction in
the utilization of resources, we should promote recycling of bulk solid waste,
and gradually achieve comprehensive utilization of animal waste at or near
the places where they are produced. In waste disposal, efforts should be made
to maximize recycling, and non-recyclable waste should be disposed of in an
environmentally sound manner.
(3) Use market mechanisms to unleash the vitality of market players and foster
new models of industrial development. Flexible and diverse market forces are