Daniel Slotta
Research expert covering Greater China
Solid waste in China - statistics & facts
China’s economic development has brought prosperity, which enabled consumption and economic activity that would have been unimaginable for most of the population 30 years ago. However, the new lifestyle came at a hidden cost. The country’s economy and population are one of the world’s largest waste generators. This challenges China’s sanitation and waste treatment infrastructure and puts a strain on the environment.
Additionally, economic growth in China also facilitated the generation of industrial waste. Regular industrial waste includes tailings, fly ash, and furnace slug, which are mainly the by-product of heavy industry. The volume of regular industrial waste has remained stable over the past years. However, along with the advancement of industrial processes, the output of hazardous industrial waste grew. Unlike regular industrial waste, hazardous by-products require more advanced treatment processes before they can be released into the environment.
To deal with overwhelming garbage volumes and the negative consequences for humans and the environment, China has shifted its focus on waste-to-power incinerators. Besides the special requirements, landfills can also cause soil and groundwater contamination, air pollution, and methane release which pose a threat to residents and the environment. By burning solid waste in a clean technology incinerator, it is possible to avoid the negative impacts while also saving fossil fuels and generating heat and electricity.
Increasing waste from households and industry
The amount of waste disposed has been increasing rapidly since the 1990s, almost tripling in three decades. China’s waste problem existed in different vectors. Higher consumption of food and commodities paired with higher levels of urbanization had not only increased household waste but also concentrated the issue to metropolitan areas and their sanitation services.Additionally, economic growth in China also facilitated the generation of industrial waste. Regular industrial waste includes tailings, fly ash, and furnace slug, which are mainly the by-product of heavy industry. The volume of regular industrial waste has remained stable over the past years. However, along with the advancement of industrial processes, the output of hazardous industrial waste grew. Unlike regular industrial waste, hazardous by-products require more advanced treatment processes before they can be released into the environment.
Reduce, reuse, incinerate!
Traditionally, sanitary landfills were the most common approach to handling waste in China, but in the face of ever-increasing waste volumes, sanitation authorities must change their approach. While waste incineration was a handling method applied in remote areas, many municipalities face the reality that designated landfill sites reach their limit much earlier than anticipated. For instance, China’s largest landfill, Jiangcungou in Xi’an, was established in 1994 and designed to receive a daily waste volume of 2,500 metric tons. In practice, however, more than tenthousand metric tons were disposed per day, which meant that it reached its capacity 25 years ahead of schedule.To deal with overwhelming garbage volumes and the negative consequences for humans and the environment, China has shifted its focus on waste-to-power incinerators. Besides the special requirements, landfills can also cause soil and groundwater contamination, air pollution, and methane release which pose a threat to residents and the environment. By burning solid waste in a clean technology incinerator, it is possible to avoid the negative impacts while also saving fossil fuels and generating heat and electricity.
