Waste Management In China Research Articles

Managing municipal waste in China from a standpoint of social governance

The research on municipal waste management is getting some traction from both scholars and practitioners. However, few studies have systematically reviewed this issue in China. Therefore, the purpose of our paper is to respond to this lacuna by systematically reviewing the research on urban waste management in China. In addition, we addressed the difficulties encountered by multiple stakeholders with respect to municipal waste management and provide a coherent understanding from a social governance perspective. Drawing on a systematic literature review, we analyzed 40 papers on social governance of waste management. The synthesis of previous studies demonstrates that although government deserves credit for guiding other actors, it cannot effectively safeguard the interests of all stakeholders. We integrated previous findings and gleaned suggestions for governments to implement strategic waste management.

Forging Partnerships and Fostering Wisdom: Dynamics of an Environmental Public Interest Litigation Network in Advocating Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management in China

Abstract This article investigates the efforts of the Environmental Public Interest Litigation Network (EPIL Network) to understand how Chinese environmental civil society proactively created a network to mobilize resources, forge collaborative actions, and build capacities and foster wisdom to catalyze changes in the environmental rule of law and in the area of municipal solid waste management. Using civil society network analysis, this article aims to identify and account for interactions between the EPIL Network and other stakeholders, including the government. Finally, the study highlights the contributions of the EPIL Network, which provides an option for resolving political conflicts in China regarding municipal waste management.

Climate Change Impact of the Development in Household Waste Management in China.

The potential climate change impacts of the development in Chinese household waste management, with less landfilling, more incineration with energy recovery, and source-separated food waste treated in biorefineries, were assessed through a life cycle assessment. When the waste management system interacts with a fossil-based energy system, landfilling produces a load of 144 kg CO2-eq/ton wet waste, while incineration shows a saving of 36 kg CO2-eq/ton wet waste. The introduction of food waste source separation lowers climate change impacts by an additional 33 kg CO2-eq/ton at a 60% sorting efficiency. As the Chinese energy system lowers its climate change impact over the next 30 years, energy recovery from waste treatment will change its relative contribution to climate change. In nonfossil energy systems, landfilling is estimated to have a climate change load of 180-240 kg CO2-eq/ton wet waste, while incineration, including combinations with the source-separation of food waste, will have a load of 310-540 kg CO2-eq/ton wet waste. These large intervals are due to waste composition uncertainty. However, considering a 20 year CH4 characterization factor representing a shorter time perspective, the impacts from landfilling are more dramatic due to the large methane release. This significant climate change impact calls for an increased focus on the developments in Chinese household waste management. The key issues identified may also apply to other countries.

Assessing China’s potential for reducing primary copper demand and associated environmental impacts in the context of energy transition and “Zero waste” policies

To conserve resources and enhance the environmental performance, China has launched the “Zero waste” concept, focused on reutilization of solid waste and recovery of materials, including copper. Although several studies have assessed the copper demand and recycling, there is a lack of understanding on how different waste management options would potentially reduce primary copper demand and associated environmental impacts in China in the context of energy transition. This study addresses this gap in view of a transition to low-carbon energy system and the optimization of copper waste management combining MFA and LCA approaches. Six types of waste streams (C&DW, ELV, WEEE, IEW, MSW, ICW) are investigated in relation to various “Zero waste” strategies including reduction, reuse (repair, remanufacturing or refurbishment), recycling and transition from informal to formal waste management. Under present Chinese policies, reuse and recycling of copper containing products will lead to a somewhat lower dependency on primary copper in 2100 (11187Gg), as well as lower total GHG emissions (64869 Gg CO2-eq.) and cumulative energy demand (1.18x10^12 MJ). Maximizing such “Zero waste” options may lead to a further reduction, resulting in 65% potential reduction of primary copper demand, around 55% potential reduction of total GHG emissions and total cumulative energy demand in 2100. Several policy actions are proposed to provide insights into future waste management in China as well as some of the challenges involved.

Assessing the sustainability of municipal solid waste management in China 1980 - 2019

The sustainability of the Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) system is one of the crucial issues for achieving sustainable development goals. However, current studies only focus on evaluating certain aspects of the MSWM system at cities level, and it lacks a comprehensive overview of the sustainability of the MSWM system at the national level in China. In addition, many studies only focused on the MSWM system in the urban area, whereas the MSWM system in counties has not been systematically reported in China previously. In this work, we developed an indicator system based on the widely accepted “Wasteaware” benchmark indicator framework, consisting of four dimensions (resource value, environmental impact, economic feasibility, and social aspect) to assess the sustainability of the MSWM system in China from 1980 to 2019. It was found that the MSW generation per unit of living expenditure, recycling rate, and landfill disposal rate dropped from 87.8 g CNY−1 to 16.5 g CNY−1, 20.0% to 17.0%, and 100.0% to 53.3%, respectively, over the last four decades. The controlled disposal rate of MSW increased from 6.9% to 98.5%, while per capita GHGs emissions from the MSW sector rose by 2.5 times. Per capita financial input intensity increased 35 times, and the social score elevated from 8 to 83. It was found that the score of MSWM sustainability decreased from 26 to 12 first in 1980–1994, then rose to 82 from 1994 to 2019. However, the financial input efficiency of MSWM in China showed a sharp decline for both resource value and environmental impact performances, from 5.5 to 0.12 (score) billion CNY−1 and from 6.2 to 0.06 (score) billion CNY−1, respectively. Although the facilities, financial investment, and regulation of the MSWM in China were primarily improved, there are still challenges in reducing MSW generation, promoting recycling, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Policy implications were put forward based on the assessment results.

The Mechanism of Household Waste Sorting Behaviour-A Study of Jiaxing, China.

Economic growth and rapid urbanization have resulted in various urban issues related to sustainable development in emerging economies such as China. Nowadays, two-thirds of China’s cities are besieged by waste and one-fourth of the cities have no space to build landfills. China is embarking on a top-down waste sorting revolution, in which residents’ awareness and behaviour of participation are fundamental to the success of garbage classification. The purpose of this paper is to understand residents’ waste sorting behaviour and identify the influencing factors in China. The subjects of this study are urban and rural residents in Jiaxing, where local government has begun to encourage waste classification but has not yet legalized it. With the integration of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and value-belief-norm theory (NAM), this study represents a “motivation-intention-behaviour” theoretical model for the systemic illustration of the antecedents of household waste sorting behaviour. A total of 541 questionnaires were administered in person in households in Jiaxing, China. Structural equation modelling with partial least squares was applied to analyse empirically. The results show that attitudes (ATT), subjective norm (SN), and perceived behavioural control (PBC) have a significant positive effect on the intention of household waste sorting (WSI), and the perceived policy effectiveness (PPE) has a positive and significant effect on the attitudes and waste sorting intention. The waste sorting intention has a positive and significant effect on waste sorting behaviour (WSB). In addition, individual characteristics have a significant impact on waste sorting behaviour, where respondents of women, higher income, and middle and old age are more willing to implement waste sorting behaviours. This study theoretically contributes to the literature by improving the understanding of the determinants of household solid waste sorting behaviour. It also provides several recommendations to improve existing policies at the practitioner level. These recommendations can be valuable references for waste management in China and other emerging economies.

Transformation of Solid Waste Management in China: Moving towards Sustainability through Digitalization-Based Circular Economy

In China, environmental pollution due to municipal solid waste (MSW) over-generation is one of the country’s priority concerns. The increasing volume and complexity of the waste poses serious risks to the environment and public health. Currently, the annual growth of MSW generation is estimated to be approximately 8–10% and will increase to 323 million metric tons (Mt) by 2030. Based on the secondary data collected from a literature survey, this article critically evaluates the recent progress of MSW management (MSWM) in China and offers new insights into the waste sector in the era of Industry 4.0. This helps decision makers in China to plan a smooth transition nationwide to a circular economy (CE) in the waste sector. It is evident that digitalization is a driving force for China to move towards low-carbon development strategies within the framework of CE. Through digitalization, the waste sector has promoted prevention, reduction, reuse, and recycling (3Rs) of waste before waste disposal in landfills. A proper implementation of digitalization-based waste recycling has contributed to an efficient cooperation between the government and private sector, increased job opportunities, and promoted the conservation of resources. It is anticipated that this work not only contributes to the establishment of an integrated MSWM system in China, but also improves local MSWM through digitalization in the framework of a CE.

The Current Status of Hazardous Waste Management in China: Identification, Distribution, and Treatment

Hazardous waste (HW) management is challenging because of their extreme toxicity to the environment and human beings. In the meantime, the occurrence of safety incidents that is caused by HW disclo...

Solid waste management in China: Policy and driving factors in 2004–2019

Solid waste management is directly or indirectly influenced by the government policies and the development of economics and technology. This research analyzed the statistics of domestic waste, industrial solid waste, and hazardous waste in China from 2004 to 2019, to find out the factors affecting solid waste management in developing countries, such as China. China has experienced the exploration of solid waste recycling, harmless treatment, resource utilization, and source reduction, and has been constantly improving its management system. The transformation of industrial structure would change the generation and treatment structure of industrial solid waste. The urbanization tended to reduce the output of domestic waste per unit GDP. Solid waste reduction, energy consumption reduction, and carbon emission reduction are synchronous, requiring capital investment and the support of technology. Technology and investments in environmental pollution control have directly promoted the reduction of solid waste, and the development of technology can reduce the investment to a certain extent. In order to handle the environmental problems caused by solid waste, decision-making process should consider the needs of economic and social development.

Three-Dimensional Modeling of a Chinese Circulating Fluidized Bed Incinerator Firing Municipal Solid Waste

Currently waste incineration is a widely used method of waste management in China. Effective incineration requires understanding and tools to analyze the incineration process leading to good incinerator performance and efficiency as well as lower emissions. In this work, a Chinese circulating fluidized bed (CFB) incinerator firing municipal solid waste (MSW) and coal is modeled with a three-dimensional CFB furnace model to evaluate the incineration process. First, the modeling results are verified with measurement data from the incinerator. Then, the furnace model is applied in the simulation of a case with more dry MSW without coal. The objective of the research is to provide insight and increase understanding of the MSW incineration process. The simulation case of MSW with the lower moisture content highlights the possible reductions of fossil carbon emissions associated with the utilization of coal. To achieve this, a moderate reduction in the moisture content of MSW is required. A comparison between the MSW and coal versus only the MSW shows minor differences in the performance of the incinerator. Utilization of modeling in incinerator studies can aid in development of more efficient CFB incinerators, improving the waste management and reducing the utilization of fossil coal.

Coastal City Environmental Protection and Governance: Reviewing Residents’ Recycling of Renewable Resources for Waste Management in China

China’s coastal cities have vigorously promoted environmental protection of urban garbage classification system, and the construction process of renewable resources recovery system is still in a state of slow development. This study starts from the residents’ awareness and daily behavior of renewable resources utilization. Through in-depth interviews and questionnaire survey, we can get a better grasp of the awareness and behavior of renewable resources recovery from the interviews, and make more systematic and comprehensive statistics on residents’ understanding of renewable resources related issues from the questionnaire. In addition to the difficulties in management, capital, personnel and technology, urban residents are not active enough in recycling renewable resources in their daily life. Therefore, renewable resources are a new kind of human resources. The rational use of "waste" can not only solve the environmental problems, but also solve the resource problems, so as to achieve a win-win situation. In today’s society, the concept of circular economy ecosystem has been gradually introduced into the mechanism of economic operation. The construction of renewable resources recycling system has become an important part of circular economy strategy.

Textile supply chain waste management in China

The development of the textile industry directly leads to the growth of pre-consumer waste generation. Investigating textile supply chain waste management in China is necessary to determine potential measures with the purpose of waste reduction from textile production. In this study, 396 textile supply chain factories in China were surveyed to evaluate their waste generation (quantity, waste streams, and disposal methods), waste management (practices, financial investments, expenditures and revenues), and difficulties and challenges in waste management. The results showed that the surveyed factories generated 331.88 t of the total waste in 2015, including an average of 15.32 t of hazardous waste, which accounted for 4.62% of the total waste. The average waste per ton of production in these factories were 0.14 t. The primary waste streams in the Chinese textile supply chain included sludge accounting for 41.67% of the total waste, followed by food/human (28.57%), textile (13.67%), other domestic (4.57%), cardboard/paper (4.30%), and chemical (3.15%) waste. Accumulated data related to the production of as sludge, other hazardous, and textile materials was sufficient; however, data related to human activities was inadequate. Only 35% of sludge was recycled in the textile industry. To improve the reuse ratio of sludge, it is necessary to classify the sludge with respect to its source. In the textile supply chain, 80% of textiles were recycled. Compared with post-consumer waste, the recovery rate of pre-consumer textile waste was high with a good recycling quality. Less than 20% of the food/human and domestic waste were recycled; most of these waste were mixed with other waste and collected by city municipalities in 2015. Further, there were a few recycling programs in mills. Our results also showed that the factories invested three times more in infrastructure than that in administrative expenditures, and that the revenues were nearly 50% of the total investments. Over 80% of factories were found to have an extended payback period (more than 10 years) for waste investments, and few factories could recoup the money invested in a short time frame. Among them, we found that more attention needs to be paid to financial problems of waste management in small-sized factories. Investing positively should be adopted by the government and brands. Based on our observations, the predominant problems encountered in waste management included a lack of technical support, lack of support from the government and brands, and shortage of qualified recycling contractor. To resolve these issues, collaborations between the government, brands, and suppliers is imperative. In general, China exhibited more sufficient waste management compared to Cambodia, Vietnam, South Korea, and Myanmar. However, waste management in China and these other countries have great potential for improvement. The results presented herein can provide information for policymakers as well as on systemic waste management in the textile industry.

Why does waste separation policy vary across different Chinese cities? A configurational analysis of the pilot scheme

This study aims to explain why different policy instruments are selected and how different configurations of factors influence the policy selection in waste management in China. Firstly, we perform content analysis with Nvivo 11 to illustrate the regional variance in policy instrument choice among the 46 cities selected as pilots to enforce the separation of municipal solid waste (MSW). While some local governments mainly resort to regulatory instruments, some others show inclination toward incentive instruments. The authors then explore the mechanisms shaping local government’s policy instrument choice with the configurational approach of fussy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), which has been seldom conducted empirically. The analysis generates several significant implications for policy instrument choice in waste management in China. It reveals how combinations of factors influence the instrument choice, which is difficult for regression analysis to capture. Second, it identifies equifinal causal paths to both incentive and regulatory instruments. Third, the fsQCA analysis also demonstrates the asymmetry of causality.

Challenges in current construction and demolition waste recycling: A China study

China produced a large amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, owing to the rapid development of construction industry. Although a set of policies and regulations are being drafted in China for promoting C&D waste recycling, execution of these policies in practice seems to be far from effective. Currently, approximately 75% of Chinese cities are still surrounded by large volumes of C&D waste. Therefore, identification of challenges in the development of C&D waste management, specially recycling, is essential. This paper employs site visits to 10 recycling plants in 10 Chinese cities (Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Changsha, Shenzhen, Nanjing, and Zhoukou) and interviews with 25 industry practitioners for examining the challenges. Eight challenges are identified: (1) unstable source of C&D waste for recycling, (2) absence of subsidies for recycling activities and high cost for land use, (3) insufficient attention paid to design for waste minimisation, (4) absence of regulations on on-site sorting, (5) unregulated landfill activities, (6) a lack of coordination among different government administration departments, (7) a lack of accurate estimation of waste quantity and distribution, and (8) a lack of an effective waste tracing system. Recommendations to address these challenges are presented. The results of this study are expected to aid policy makers in formulation of proper C&D waste management in China and provide a useful reference for researchers who are interested in C&D waste recycling industry.

COVID-19 waste management: Effective and successful measures in Wuhan, China

•Medical wastes will drastically increase due to Covid-19-outbreak.•Safe and sustainable waste management is a major concern.•Experience and lessons can be learned for medical waste management in China.

Estimating Physical Composition of Municipal Solid Waste in China by Applying Artificial Neural Network Method.

Physical composition of municipal solid waste (PCMSW) is the fundamental parameter in domestic waste management; however, high fidelity, wide coverage, upscaling, and year continuous data sets of PCMSW in China are insufficient. A traceable and predictable methodology for estimating PCMSW in China is established for the first time by analyzing 503 PCMSW data sets of 135 prefecture-level cities in China. A hyperspherical transformation method was used to eliminate the constant sum constraint in statistically analyzing PCMSW data. Moreover, a back-propagation (BP) neural network methodology was applied to establish quantitative models between city-level PCMSW and its socio-economic factors, including city size, per capita gross regional product, geographical location, gas coverage rate, and year. Results show that (1) national-level PCMSW in 2017 was estimated as organic fraction (53.7%), ash and stone (8.3%), paper (16.9%), plastic and rubber (13.6%), textile (2.3%), wood (2.2%), metal (0.6%), glass (1.5%), and others (1.0%); (2) organic fraction, paper, and plastics showed an increasing trend from 1990 to 2017, while ash and stone decreased significantly; (3) organic fractions in East, North, and Central-South China were higher than those in other regions. This enables us to fill the data gap in the practice of municipal solid waste management in China.

Quantifying construction waste reduction through the application of prefabrication: a case study in Anhui, China.

Due to the rapid pace of urbanization in China, there has been a significant increase in construction work, which has resulted in the generation of more waste. Reducing the waste at source is the most efficient way to reduce its negative impacts, and prefabrication is a construction method that does exactly that. Since prefabricated construction generates less waste compared to conventional cast-in-situ construction, it is being promoted by the Chinese government. This study investigates the benefits of prefabrication and quantifies the percentage of construction waste reduction through its application in China. It does so by using a 26-storey concrete-brick residential building as a case study, and by conducting uncertainty analysis with Oracle Crystal Ball simulation software to assess the reduction of waste when using prefabricated components in place of cast-in-situ elements. Simulation results demonstrated that the waste generation rate for in-situ timber formwork and masonry work was 10.52 and 4.77kg/m2 respectively, and that the use of prefabricated components reduced those figures by 36.04% and 25.53% respectively. This study quantifies the benefits of prefabrication as a method for reducing the generation of construction waste in China. Not only would extensive use of prefabrication decrease the cost related to construction waste management in China, but it could also mitigate the environmental and social impacts of construction waste globally.

Toward separation at source: Evolution of Municipal Solid Waste management in China

Municipal SolidWaste (MSW) management in China has been transitioning from a mixed collection and treatment system to a separated collection and treatment system. The continuous rise of MSW treatment capacity and the optimization of technology structure provided basic facility support for China to promote MSW separation at source. China preferred a four-type separation system. Regulated recycling should be enhanced to improve the efficiency and sustainability of recycling industry. As food waste is the main composition of MSW in China, 20%–30% of the food waste diversion and land application could maximize the comprehensive environmental performance. Incineration is to be the pillar technology in MSW separated treatment system in China.

Environmental Pollution Effect Analysis of Lead Compounds in China Based on Life Cycle.

Environmental pollution caused by lead toxicity causes harm to human health. Lead pollution in the environment mainly comes from the processes of mining, processing, production, use, and recovery of lead. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of refined lead. In this paper, the material flow analysis method is used to analyze the flow and direction of lead loss in four stages of lead production, manufacturing, use, and waste management in China from 1949 to 2017. The proportion coefficient of lead compounds in each stage of lead loss was determined. The categories and quantities of lead compounds discharged in each stage were calculated. The results show that in 2017, China emitted 2.1519 million tons of lead compounds. In the four stages of production, manufacturing, use, and waste management, 137.9 kilo tons, 209 kilo tons, 275 kilo tons, and 1.53 million tons were respectively discharged. The emissions in the production stage are PbS, PbO, PbSO4, PbO2, Pb2O3, and more. The emissions during the manufacturing phase are Pb, PbO, PbSO4, Pb2O3, Pb3O4, and more. The main emissions are Pb, PbO, Pb2O3, Pb3O4, and more. The main emissions in the waste management stage are PbS, Pb, PbO, PbSO4, PbO2, PbCO3, Pb2O3, Pb3O4, and more. Among them, the emissions of PbSO4, PbO, Pb, and PbO2 account for about 90%, which are the main environmental pollution emissions. The waste management stage is an important control source of lead compound emission and pollution. In view of these characteristics of the environmental pollution risk of lead compounds in China, the government should issue more targeted policies to control lead pollution.

Community engagement and waste management policy: A comparative analysis

Municipal waste management has become a significant problem in many urban areas where solutions are complex and conflicting to form. One of the most important actors that can control waste management in a country is the government. Then the most important tool for setting standards in maintaining waste management is the public policy. Therefore, this paper will review and evaluate public policies that regulate solid waste management in China, Japan, and Malaysia, using secondary data. The three countries were chosen because their cases represented various significant and different factors that have often been an obstacle to waste management. The three case studies discuss community behavior analysis, policy mistranslation, and the lack of waste management infrastructure. The main obstacles of the waste management policy are to control people’s behavior, lack of garbage infrastructure, waste pickers are not organized, and lack of progress in waste management and recycling technology. The waste management policy needs to focus on increasing residents’ awareness to recycle and expand the producer’s responsibility to increase community engagement and boost successful waste management in a region or country.