China makes progress in solid waste treatment

BEIJING - China has made progress in preventing solid waste pollution, according to a report on the enforcement of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste.

All provincial-level regions in China have made their plans to advance waste sorting, stated the report, which was submitted to the ongoing session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee for review.

Waste sorting covered nearly 95 percent of residential communities in 46 pilot cities across China by the end of 2020, the report noted.

In 2020, Chinese cities collected and transported 235 million tonnes of household refuse, and 99.7 percent of the garbage underwent harmless disposal, according to the report.

China's capacity to deal with hazardous waste has continuously improved, the report said, and the country's centralized hazardous waste disposal and utilization capacity exceeded 140 million tonnes per year by the end of last year.

The document also noted some shortcomings in the handling of solid waste, including the unbalanced implementation of the waste sorting system and weaknesses in the safe disposal of solid waste.

It called for improved relevant regulations and standards, as well as strengthened supervision and law enforcement, among other measures, to address solid waste pollution.

The revised Law on Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste came into effect on Sept 1, 2020.