Waste management in China : issues and recommendations

Abstract

China recently surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest municipal solid waste (MSW) generator. In 2004 the urban areas of China generated about 190,000,000 tons of MSW and by 2030 this amount is projected to be at least 480,000,000 tons. No country has ever experienced as large, or as rapid, an increase in waste generation. Management of this waste has enormous domestic and international implications. This report provides a general sector background and identifies critical solid waste management issues - although it does not address the areas of hazardous waste, medical waste, sewage sludge, or waste pickers. However it does discuss waste quantities; information availability (quantity and waste cost); the decision-making process used to derive policy and strategically plan for technology selection, private sector involvement, cost recovery, inadequate public access, and participation in the planning process; facility operations; financing; institutional arrangements including inadequate decentralization of collection and transfer services and municipal capacity; private sector participation, and carbon financing.