Waste management in China : issues and recommendations

33210 Waste Management in China: Issues and Recommendations May 2005 Urban Development Working Papers East Asia Infrastructure Department World Bank Working Paper No. 9   Foreword No country has ever experienced as large or as fast an increase in solid waste quantities that China is now facing. In 2004 China surpassed the United States as the world's largest waste generator, and by 2030 China's annual solid waste quantities will increase by anoth- er 150% - growing from about 190,000,000 tons in 2004 to over 480,000,000 tons in 2030. The social, financial, and environmental impacts of this growing waste stream are signif- icant. All aspects of China's waste management system are undergoing wholesale changes as government tries to respond to the challenge. China needs to move up the "waste management hierarchy" promoting waste minimization, reuse and recycling, before other waste disposal methods are pursued. However, even with aggressive waste diversion activities China's future waste disposal needs are enormous. For example China's cities will need to develop an additional 1400 landfills over the next 20 years. This paper contributes to China's municipal solid waste discussions by present- ing updated and relatively accurate projections of municipal waste quantities and compo- sition. Key trends are documented and possible responses are proposed. Christian Delvoie Director Infrastructure Department East Asia and Pacific Region Maryvonne Plessis-Fraissar Director Transport and Urban Development Department iii   Acknowledgements This paper was prepared by the East Asia and Pacific Urban Development Sector Unit (EASUR). Dan Hoornweg, Task Team Leader, Philip Lam, and Manisha Chaudhry wrote the paper. Demetrios Papathanasiou also provided written inputs. Detailed review and advice was provided by Songsu Choi, Sandra Cointreau, and Hardy Wong. Peer review- ers included David Hanrahan and Jack Fritz. In addition to the peer reviewers, Tore Semb, Lixin Gu, Michel Kerf, George Plant, Edourade Motte, Bekir Onursul, and Tom Zearley provided extensive comments. Technical and editorial reviews were provided by Wit Siemieniuk and Laura Thomas. Technical assistance and financial support were provided by the World Bank's Carbon Fund Business Unit. Keshav Varma Sector Director East Asia and Pacific Urban Development Sector Unit v   Waste Management in China: Issues and Recommendations Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Current and Projected Waste Quantities and Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3. Legislative Framework and Roles and Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 4. Waste Minimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 5. Integrated Waste Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 6. Carbon Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 7. Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 8. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 9. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Tables Table 2.1: Sources and Types of Municipal Solid Waste Table 2.2: Projected Municipal Waste Generation for the Urban Population in China Table 3.1: Summary of National Chinese Laws and Regulations on MSW Table 5.1: Proposed Compost Standards Table 5.2: Two Stream vs. Three Stream Waste Segregation Table 6.1: Estimated Savings in greenhouse gases emissions for various waste management technologies Table 7.1: Estimated total expenditures in residential solid waste disposal in Chinese cities, in 2002, 2010, and 2020 Table 7.2: Estimated financing for urban residential solid waste disposal in Shanghai, Chongqing, and Kunming in 2002 Table 7.3: Expected Sources of Solid Waste Management Funding Table 7.4: Financial Data for Municipal Solid Waste, 2002; Shanghai, Chongqing, Kunming Figures Figure 2.1: Projected Municipal Waste Composition in Urban Areas of China Figure 2.2: OECD Countries Municipal Waste Generation Compared to GDP Figure 2.3: Projected Municipal Waste Generation in Urban Areas of China by Region Figure 2.4: Variations in Waste Generation and Composition by Affluence: Beijing, China Figure 2.5: Industrial Solid Waste Generation in China Figure 2.6: Wuhan City Waste Composition Figure 2.7: Projected Municipal Waste Generation for the Urban Population in China Figure 2.8: US flow of raw materials by weight, 1900-2000 Figure 2.9: OECD Countries Municipal Waste Generation Figure 2.10: Projected Municipal Waste Generation for China, India and the United States Figure 6.1: The Global Development Mechanism Project Cycle Boxes Box 3.1: Brazilian Business Commitment for Recycling (CEMPRE) Box 4.1: Examples of Market Based Instruments in Solid Waste Management Box 4.2: Industrial Waste Materials Exchange Agencies Box 5.1: Hierarchy of Waste Management Box 5.2: Dioxins in Japan Box 5.3: Critical Aspects of an Integrated Waste Management Program vii Annexes Annex 1: Projected Municipal Waste Generation in Chinese Cities with Population Over 750,000  Waste Management in China: Issues and Recommendations Annex 2: Asian Development Bank Report: Strengthening Urban Solid Waste Management, A Summary Figure A2.1: Waste Management Hierarchy Figure A2.2: Long-term (by year 2010) Proposed Institutional Structure for SWM Annex 3: China's growing commodity demand Figure A3.1: China: Apparent Consumption of Crude Steel Figure A3.2: Growth in China's Durable Goods Ownership Figure A3.3: China's National Urban Sanitation Levels, 2002 Figure A3.4: China's Output of Select Industrial Products, 199-2002 Figure A3.5: China Imports: Petroleum, Petroleum Products, and Related Materials Figure A3.6: China Imports: Chemical Materials and Products Figure A3.7: China Imports: Iron and Steel Figure A3.8: China Imports: Paper, Paperboard, and Articles of Paper Pulp Figure A3.9: China Imports: Copper Table A3.1: World Aluminum Consumption Table A3.2: Growth in China's Durable Goods Ownership Table A3.3: Per Capita Coca-Cola Consumption Table A3.4: World Resource Consumption Annex 4: National Chinese Laws and Regulations on MSW