China's waste management market expands

Experts say China's waste management industry is heading toward prosperity, as relevant annual output value growth rate in the coming two to three years might hit 30 percent.
"In the coming two to three years, the waste management sector will encounter a booming period as the government continues to make efforts to strengthen waste management," said Hou Yuxuan, a researcher with an affiliated Web site of the China Investment Corporation.
The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently approved proposals by 16 ministries on strengthening the work of urban domestic garbage management companies.
A report from China Solid Waste Net shows that by 2015, China's annual urban refuse output will reach 184 million tonnes, of which 82 percent will go through treatment to make it less environmentally harmful.
Xiao Qiong, a researcher with the China Solid Waste Net, said, "China's investment in refuse treatment facilities will reach 170 billion yuan by the end of 2015, at least double the amount invested from 2005 to 2010."
The expanding construction of refuse treatment facilities will help promote the marketization of the industry and attract more investment from companies both at home and abroad, said Hou.
China's waste management approach will gradually switch from putting refuse in landfills to incinerating it, in order to reduce environmental impact. By the end of 2015, incinerated waste will account for 35 percent of China's total managed waste, said Xiao.
Currently, waste in China is processed via landfills, incinerators and composting facilities. Landfill currently accounts for 85 percent of refuse, while incineration accounts for 17 percent.
Many cities in China, including Dalian and Xiamen, are constructing large incinerators. Beijing plans to build nine large-scale incinerators by the end of 2015.
The country's first refuse incinerating plant which is able to handle 2,000 tonnes of refuse each day went into service in February this year in the city of Wuxi in east China's Jiangsu Province.
Waste recovery is also a focus of the proposals brought by the 16 ministries. Recycling rates in urban areas are required to hit 30 percent, and some municipalities and provincial capitals are being asked to bring that number to 50 percent.
China's recycling industry has been expanding rapidly. Statistics show that in 2009, China recycled 140 million tonnes of refuse. This recycling resulted in 500 billion yuan in value.
Experts say that new policies, technologies and information are the three factors that affect the development of China's recycling industry.
It is estimated that China loses as much as 30 billion yuan as the result of poor waste management each year. However, if new waste management procedures and techniques are put into place, it is believed that the country can reap economic benefits of at least 250 billion yuan annually.
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