On April 29, the 17th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress reviewed and adopted the revised Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, which came into effect on September 1, 2020.
The newly revised law explicitly establishes the principles of reduction, resource utilization, and harmlessness** for solid waste pollution control. It strengthens the supervision responsibilities of governments and relevant departments by institutionalizing:
Target responsibility systems
Corporate credit records
Regional joint prevention and control mechanisms
Whole-process monitoring and digitalized traceability systems
while declaring China's commitment to gradually achieve zero solid waste imports.
Specifically, the law refines the regulatory framework for industrial solid waste:
Enforces producer responsibility through mandatory pollution discharge permits, detailed management ledgers, and resource utilization efficiency evaluations.
Expands the Legal Liability chapter by significantly increasing penalties for non-compliance:
Maximum fines raised to 5 million yuan
Introduces daily continuous penalties
Empowers administrative detention and seizure of facilities
These stringent measures impose substantially higher costs for violations, demanding stricter control and disposal practices from waste-generating entities.
Current Status of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management in China
I. Steady Annual Increase in Waste Generation
According to the Annual Report on Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste in Large and Medium-Sized Cities released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) on December 31, 2019, the generation of industrial hazardous waste in reporting cities showed a consistent upward trend from 2014 to 2018. Statistical data indicate that in 2018:
General industrial solid waste generated in reporting cities reached 1.55 billion tons;
Industrial hazardous waste generation totaled 46.43 million tons;
Medical waste amounted to 817,000 tons;
Municipal solid waste reached 211.473 million tons.
From 2008 to 2018, the number of hazardous waste operation licenses (including medical waste) grew annually, with accelerated growth observed between 2016 and 2018. By the end of 2018, provincial-level authorities had issued a cumulative total of 3,220 hazardous waste operation licenses nationwide.
II. Severe Hazards to Ecological Environment and Socioeconomic Development
China's solid waste, particularly hazardous waste disposal, has become a major risk source impacting socioeconomic development. Key industries generating significant quantities of hazardous waste include:
Chemical Raw Materials and Products Manufacturing (e.g., heavy metal-laden waste);
Non-ferrous Metal Smelting and Rolling Processing;
Non-metal Mining and Beneficiation;
Paper and Paper Products Manufacturing;
Non-ferrous Metal Mining.
The medical sector generates substantial medical hazardous waste, predominantly organic waste. Industrial hazardous waste also contains a considerable proportion of organic components, such as:
Waste Mineral Oils (e.g., oil sludge);
Pesticide Residues;
Organic Solvent Wastes;
Organohalogen Compound Wastes;
Cyanide-Containing Wastes;
Distillation Residues (including rectification residues);
Paint and Coating Wastes;
Organic Resin Wastes.
These organic pollutants exhibit environmental persistence, volatility, high toxicity, bioaccumulation potential, and reactivity. Without stringent management, they pose severe threats to human health and ecosystems, while constraining sustainable socioeconomic development.
III. Massive Market Capacity Gap
Contrary to the annual growth trend of solid and hazardous waste, China faces significant treatment capacity gaps. In 2018:
Actual hazardous waste production reached 110 million tons (including 2.41 million tons of medical waste), based on waste generation intensity modeling;
Untreated historical stockpiles were estimated at 68.48–272.01 million tons;
Total treatment capacity stood at 50.96 million tons, comprising:
Industrial hazardous waste treatment: 44.72 million tons
Medical waste treatment: 2.04 million tons;
Critical capacity gaps were identified as:
Industrial hazardous waste: 65 million tons
Medical waste: 370,000 tons
.
The supply-demand imbalance has driven treatment costs upward at an annual rate of 20%–30%. Current market prices include:
Incineration treatment: ￥5,000–10,000/ton
Empty container cleaning: ￥20–40/unit
Cleaning wastewater treatment: ~￥10,000/ton
IV. Current Treatment Technologies
In the field of solid waste treatment, conventional methods such as landfilling, composting, incineration, and sea disposal for sludge and municipal solid waste universally face three critical challenges: secondary pollution, high energy consumption, and limited disposal capacity. Although incineration achieves significant volume reduction (up to 70%), it struggles to resolve dioxin emissions and toxic fly ash management
Traditional fly ash solidification and landfilling not only increase weight by 30% and volume by 50%, but also carry long-term risks of heavy metal re-leaching (e.g., Pb, Cd leaching rates exceeding 5 mg/L after 10 years)
. For hazardous waste incineration, residue generation (15–20% of input mass) and fly ash production (5%) require identical stabilization and landfilling processes, exacerbating disposal costs and landfill saturation
Emerging plasma melting technology utilizes plasma torches to vitrify fly ash into inert glassy slag at 1,300–1,500°C. However, its commercial adoption is hindered by excessive energy consumption (≥1,200 kWh/ton) and short electrode lifespan (300–500 hours), necessitating frequent cathode replacement and elevating operational costs
Consequently, the industry urgently demands innovative technologies for complete harmless disposal to address these systemic limitations and resolve core pain points.
Multi-Category Solid & Hazardous Waste Harmless Disposal and Resource Utilization Technology by ZHGAS
In recent years, Chinese Academy of Sciences Hefei Gasification Technology Co., Ltd. (ZHGAS) has actively advanced the industrialization of hazardous waste treatment technologies. Through its proprietary "Circulating Fluidized Bed Gasification + High-Temperature Entrained-Flow Melting" coupling process, solid and hazardous waste materials are converted into inert glassy slag. This technology achieves:
Zero dioxin emissions during treatment;
Generation of synthesis gas (CO + H?) for secondary energy utilization.
For specific hazardous wastes like incineration residues and fly ash, materials can be directly fed into the entrained-flow melting furnace (bypassing gasification), where vitrification forms glassy slag. Heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cd, etc.) are effectively encapsulated within the silicate matrix, with leachate toxicity ≤0.1 mg/L — significantly below China's GB 5085.3-2007 standard — achieving complete waste detoxification.
