Municipal solid waste management in China

SolidWasteManagementMunicipalSolidWasteManagementinChina:Status,problemsandchallengesChinaRapidMSWGenerationNoothercountryhaseverexperiencedaslargeandasfastanincreaseinsolidwastequantitiesthatChinaisnowfacing.UrbanizationpopulationgrowthindustrializationChinaRapidMSWGenerationComparedwithotherdevelopedcountries,ChinahasbeenconsideredashavingarelativelylowpercapitaMSWgenerationrate.Atypicaldevelopedcountrygenerates1.43-2.08kg/capita/day.TheMSWgenerationratealsovariesamongdifferentcitiesinChinaBeijing0.85kg/capita/dayShanghai1.11kg/capita/dayChongqing1.08kg/capita/dayLhasa1.51kg/capita/dayHangzhou1.17kg/capita/dayHongKong1.33kg/capita/dayCurrently,thereareabout660citiesinChinathatproduceabout190milliontonesofsolidwasteannuallyand,accountfor29%oftheworld’sMSWeachyear.RankedsecondRankedthirdfromlastChinaRapidMSWGenerationCurrentMSWManagementinChinaLandfillThetotalMSWcollectedandtransportedwas148milliontonnes,ofwhich91.4%waslandfilled,6.4%wasincinerated2.1%wascomposted.CurrentMSWManagementinChinaLandfillLowtreatmentrateHighlandfillrateCurrentMSWManagementinChinaIncinerationIncinerationofMSWhasnumerousadvantagessuchassignificantvolumereduction(approximately90%)andmassreduction(approximately70%),completedisinfection,energyrecovery,andotherpositivebenefits.However,incinerationisusuallyconstrainedbyhighcostsExistingProblemsinMSWManagementWasteCollectionFormalCollectionInformalCollection(Npersons)(2Npersons)1.makeitmoredifficulttoregulateandimplementanefficientandstandardizedwastetreatmentsystem2.rummagingthroughthesolidwastemayhaveanegativeimpactonthehealthandhygieneofthesescavengersandwastecollectors3.Whenthescavengerssortthroughandremovetherecyclablesfromthewastecollectioncontainersorstations,theyalsooftenscatterabouttheremainingunwantedwasteonthestreet.ExistingProblemsinMSWManagementWasteSeparationandRecyclingWastesegregationbeforecollectionwillreducetheamountofsolidwastegenerationandfacilitaterecyclingofmaterials,aswellasreducetheoverallcostofwastedisposal.DevelopedCountries:thesinglehouseholdpredominatesandMSWcanbeseparatelycollectedbyusingdifferentcontainersdistinguishedbydifferentcolorswithlabelsandclearlywritteninstructions.China:(1)Lowrateofsolidwasteseparation.(2)high-riseapartmentsespeciallyinlargecitiespredominate,andthismakeswasteseparationrelativelydifficultsothatsolidwastegeneratedfromeachhouseholdismixedandcollectedinbags.(3)thebuyingpriceofrecycledgoodsbyindustriesisrelativelylow,andthereforedoesnotprovideanincentiveforindividualstorecycle.ExistingProblemsinMSWManagementLandfillandIncinerationIngeneral,landfillsdonotmeetbestpracticesfromeitherthedesignormanagementperspective,andonlyrarelymanagetheMSWinamannerapproachingNorthAmericanorEuropeanstandards.Itisbecomingincreasinglydifficulttofindnewsiteswhicharelocatedatareasonabledistancefromthecollectionareas.landfillIncinerationSuggestedminimalheatingvalue:7MJ/kgNeverfallbelow6MJ/kglowheatingvaluewillaffecttheeconomicsforpowergenerationChina:5MJ/kgTOOLOWFlyAshCement(Highcostconstraint)ExistingProblemsinMSWManagementLevyingFeesSystemthefeeleviescovercostsofcollection,transportandtreatmentcostforthesafedisposalofwasteMSWfeeperhouseholdpermonth:Guangzhou10RMB/household/monthChongqing3RMB/household/month(US$0.4/month)Beijing2-3RMB/household/monthShanghaiNowastedisposalservicesfee.ToolowtoOpportunitiesandPerspectivesFirstthesortingmethodshouldbewell-definedasresidentsareeasilyconfusedbythegeneralconcepts(e.g.,recyclablesandnon-recyclables,combustibleandnon-combustiblematerials).AshoeThemiddletubeoftoiletrollsandkitchenrollsPlasticbottlesincludingshampooanddetergentbottlesMirrorsSanitarytowelsPaintcontainersOpportunitiesandPerspectivesFirstthesortingmethodshouldbewell-definedasresidentsareeasilyconfusedbythegeneralconcepts(e.g.,recyclablesandnon-recyclables,combustibleandnon-combustiblematerials).Recyclable:AshoeThemiddletubeoftoiletrollsandkitchenrollsPlasticbottlesincludingshampooanddetergentbottlesNon-recyclable:ThemiddletubeoftoiletrollsandkitchenrollsMirrorsSanitarytowelsOpportunitiesandPerspectivesSecondtheuseofdifferentcontainerswithdifferentidentifyingcolorslocatedinresidentialareasforsourceseparationtominimizewasteandmaximizingrecyclingisrecommended.OpportunitiesandPerspectivesThirdDecentralizationtoprovideincentivesforlowerlevelsInthetraditionaltop-downplanningmethods,stategovernmentformulatesplansatanationallevelandrequiresthecompliancefromthelowerlevels.Inpractice,itisdifficultforthelowerlevelstoadherestrictlytothedirectivefromthestategovernmentbecauseoflimitedlegislativefreedom,anddifferinggoalsandperceptions.Itisimportanttoappropriatelydistributeresponsibilities,authorities,jurisdiction,functions,rightsandcapacityforempowerment,totheproperlevelsofthevariousregulatingauthorities.SolidWasteManagementCaringMoreForPeople