Urgency rises for tackling hazardous waste

Measures taken

Qiu pledged to take a series of measures to enhance processing capacity. Facilities for hazardous waste treatment will be included in local environmental infrastructure development plans, and the treatment of such waste will be included in the central environmental inspections led by ministerial-level officials. Research aimed at overcoming technical bottlenecks for treatment will be enhanced as well, he said.

Qiu said the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will cooperate with the NPC to revise the Solid Waste Law, and make efforts to build a national information network to enhance monitoring, treatment and risk prevention capabilities.

The campaign launched last year targeting the illegal dumping of solid waste, especially hazardous waste, along the Yangtze River, will be continued, he said.

Wang, of the NPC committee, also called for more government support to encourage investment from both State-owned and private companies into the hazardous waste treatment sector.

Facilities for hazardous waste disposal should be mandatory at all industrial parks. And while they should be included into planning for new parks, the construction of such facilities should begin as soon as possible in parks with inadequate facilities, he suggested. Land should be set aside so that it could be used to increase processing capacity to meet potential demand, Wang said.

He also suggested making the disclosure of information about hazardous waste mandated by law in order to facilitate public supervision. The latest technological innovations such as big data, unmanned aerial vehicles and remote monitoring should be adopted to tighten supervisory efficiency.

"The sharing of data should be intensified among government agencies so that environmental authorities can conduct comprehensive analysis to look for abnormalities," he said.

Yan Yujie contributed to this story.