China to improve urban garbage treatment

Aerial photo shows villagers playing a garbage sorting game in Shengjiawu Village, Wuxing District of Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 28, 2020. The government of Huzhou has been exploring rural-specific garbage sorting mechanisms in recent years. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- China wants to improve the sorting and utilization of household garbage in urban areas in the next five years. Authorities set specific targets for urban garbage treatment in the 2021-2025 period.

The country aims to boost the utilization rate of urban household waste to around 60 percent by the end of 2025, said a plan jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

By the end of 2025, China's capacity for household garbage sorting, collection, and transportation shall reach around 700,000 tonnes per day. The country's urban household garbage treatment capacity through incineration shall stand at 800,000 tonnes per day, the document said.

In the meantime, prefecture-level cities and townships in regions including Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and neighboring areas, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area shall see household garbage sorting and treatment systems established.

Other regions shall also actively seek better coverage of garbage sorting and treatment facilities, the plan said.

Toward this end, efforts will be made to improve the garbage sorting system and push forward the construction of household garbage incineration and kitchen waste treatment facilities. Efforts will also regulate the construction of landfill facilities and improve the resource utilization facilities of recyclables.

Work shall also be done to strengthen the sorting and treatment of hazardous waste and boost the capabilities of secondary pollution avoidance. The document also emphasized research and development in key technologies, encouraging household waste co-processing, and improving monitoring and supervision for the entire waste treatment process.