How far does Greater Beijing have to go to become a “zero-waste city”?

The accumulated stockpile of various types of solid waste in my country has reached 60 billion to 70 billion tons, with an annual output of nearly 10 billion tons, and is increasing year by year. In order to promote the reduction of solid waste at the source and resource utilization, my country issued the "Pilot Work Plan for the Construction of "Zero Waste Cities"" and the "Zero Waste Cities Construction Index System" in 2018, and carried out the construction of zero waste cities in 2019 with "11+5" pilot cities such as Shenzhen.

Urban waste mainly includes domestic waste, industrial solid waste, construction waste, hazardous solid waste, etc. "Zero waste city" does not mean no waste, but to reduce the discharge of waste, use it rationally, and build a recycling system for urban solid waste.

According to statistics, Beijing's annual domestic waste collection volume is 7.406 million tons, with an average of 2 tons per day; of which 66% is harmlessly incinerated, 6% is landfilled, and 28% is harmlessly treated. The harmless disposal rate is 100%, exceeding the national treatment rate of 99.9%.

Construction waste is mainly generated during construction projects, demolition of old buildings, and renovation and renovation. In 2020, Beijing generated a total of 147 million tons of construction waste, an average of 402 tons per day. Each year, 21.48 million tons were landfilled and 126 million tons were disposed of and utilized. The comprehensive disposal and utilization rate reached 86%, far higher than the 50% level in the 35 pilot urban areas across the country.

Industrial solid waste includes waste slag from industrial production, fly ash from thermal power plants, porcelain powder from ceramic factories, etc. Beijing produced a total of 1.71 million tons in 2022, an average of 468 kg per day. The comprehensive utilization rate was 84%, exceeding the national average of 58%, with no discard or additional storage.

Hazardous waste mainly comes from chemical, pharmaceutical and scientific research institutes. Beijing added 271,200 tons of hazardous waste in 2022, with an average of 74.3 kg per day. All of it was disposed of harmlessly, with a storage volume of 1,500 tons at the end of the year.

Therefore, Beijing generates an average of 4.053 million tons of urban solid waste per day, and disposes 3.537 million tons per day, with a disposal rate of 87%. However, it should be noted that the comprehensive utilization rate of domestic waste is low, mainly incineration and landfill; 15% of construction waste has not been effectively disposed of, and the comprehensive treatment capacity still needs to be further improved.

refer to:

National Bureau of Statistics China Statistical Yearbook 2023

People's Daily Online, "Construction waste has a good place to go"

Xinhua News Agency, “my country promotes construction waste management and resource utilization”