A Gap Analysis in Selected Asian Countries, 3R Knowledge Hub ...

BACKGROUND
Referred as ‘workshop of the world’, China’s
rapid growing ‘economy-might’ has surprised
many economist and industrialized countries
with its ever-expanding production lines. The
GNP per capita has increased from USD 620 to
1,000; urban population from 30 to 35%; and
urban municipal solid waste generation from
0.79 to 1.15 kg/capita/day during 1997-2003. In
the last two decades, the economy of China has
been growing at an annual rate of almost 10%.
The total amount of waste has been growing at a
similar pace of 8-10% annually. Currently, every
Chinese produces about 440 kg of solid waste
every year. At this rate with the total population
of China at approximately 1.25 billion, the total
amount of waste is around 500 million tons.
China’s waste management revealed that the
failures in slowing down waste growth,
employing the best available solid waste
technology, systematizing source separation of
household waste and household hazardous
waste and setting the right incentives for waste
collection and environmental hygiene services
are the major pitfalls in solid waste management.
In addition, the increasing recyclable contents in
the waste stream especially in the more affluent
areas, and inadequate monitoring of the waste
compositions, pollution abatement methods in
treatment and disposal appear to be the
drawbacks of solid waste management in the
country.
PRIORITY AREAS
An analysis of generation rate, current
management practices, and available
technologies for waste handling and disposal in
China identifies Industrial Solid Waste (ISW) as a
priority area. Since 1995, ISW has been the main
source of solid waste in China. With the current
3.5
China
economic development, the quantity of ISW is
increasing rapidly in the country. Compared to
MSW collected and transported in 2002, ISW
generated was approximately seven times
higher (about 945 million tons). Mining gangue
is the largest component of ISW (making up
27.5%) of the total waste.
Within the Chinese industrial sector, the coal
mining and processing industry contributes
most to the total quantity of ISW. Implementing
concrete 3R measures to the industrial sector
can yield immediate results.
URBAN MUNICIPAL WASTE
According to the available data and literature,
total MSW generated annually in China varies
between 120-136 million tons. The rapid
expansion of cities and urban sprawl has led to
higher consumption and increase in the amount
of urban waste generated since the living
standard of the urban areas is higher than in the
countryside. With the increase of GNP per
capita since 1997, the same has been reflected in
the amount of urban municipal waste
generated.
Chapter 3: Country Analysis
41