Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Review
DHI-NTU Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, N1.2-B1-02, Singapore 639798, Singapore
Maritime Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, N1-B1a-03 Singapore 639798, Singapore
c
Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, Hardy Tower 119, 5500 Campanile, San Diego CA 92182-4162, USA
b
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 2 June 2009
Received in revised form
1 March 2010
Accepted 23 March 2010
Available online 21 April 2010
This paper presents an examination of MSW generation and composition in China, providing an overview
of the current state of MSW management, an analysis of existing problems in MSW collection, separation, recycling and disposal, and some suggestions for improving MSW systems in the future. In China,
along with urbanization, population growth and industrialization, the quantity of municipal solid waste
(MSW) generation has been increasing rapidly. The total MSW amount increased from 31.3 million
tonnes in 1980 to 212 million tonnes in 2006, and the waste generation rate increased from 0.50 kg/
capita/day in 1980 to 0.98 kg/capita/year in 2006. Currently, waste composition in China is dominated by
a high organic and moisture content, since the concentration of kitchen waste in urban solid waste
makes up the highest proportion (at approximately 60%) of the waste stream. The total amount of MSW
collected and transported was 148 million tonnes in 2006, of which 91.4% was landlled, 6.4% was
incinerated and 2.2% was composted. The overall MSW treatment rate in China was approximately 62% in
2007. In 2007, there were 460 facilities, including 366 landll sites, 17 composing plants, and 66
incineration plants. This paper also considers the challenges faced and opportunities for MSW
management in China, and a number of recommendations are made aimed at improving the MSW
management system.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Municipal Solid Waste
Management
China
1. Introduction
The Chinese population has increased over the past two decades
and its economy has developed tremendously. Chinas development has also brought about an unprecedented increase in the
amount of solid waste. No other country has ever experienced as
large and as fast an increase in solid waste quantities that China is
now facing (Xue and Chen, 2007; World Bank, 2005; Dong et al.,
2001). Urbanization, population growth and industrialization are
three key reasons behind the large magnitude of Chinas increase in
total waste generation. In general, China still has a long way to go in
the management of solid waste with respect to solid waste recycling, treatment technology and management strategy when
compared with many more developed countries, e.g., Germany,
Sweden, Japan, and the United States (Yuan et al., 2006).
Throughout the country, the social, nancial and environmental
impacts of this growing waste generation are gaining attention and
MSW management is becoming a major issue (Zerbock, 2003;
Zurbrgg, 2002). Improvement in MSW collection, recycling and
disposal will be an important goal for the governments of all cities
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dqzhang@ntu.edu.sg (D.Q. Zhang).
0301-4797/$ e see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.03.012
1624
Table 1
Collected and transported MSW in China (Data source: China Statistical Yearbook, 2001e2007).
1981
1990
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
14,400
2606
0.50
32,530
6767
0.57
52,376
14,857
0.78
54,283
15,509
0.78
56,157
15,577
0.76
57,706
14,841
0.70
59,379
15,214
0.70
1625
Table 2
Waste generation in selected OECD countries and China.
Countries
USA (2005)a
Canada (2005)a
France (2005)a
Germany (2005)a
Denmark (2005)a
Switzerland (2005)a
Australia (2005)a
Poland (2005)a
Portugal (2005)a
Hungary (2005)a
Mexico (2005)a
Japan (2005)a
Korea (2005)a
China (2006)b
222,863
e
33,963
49,563
3,900
4,855
e
9,354
5,009
4,632
36,088
51,607
18,252
212,100b
2.05
e
1.48
1.64
2.03
1.78
e
0.68
1.29
1.26
0.93
1.10
1.04
0.98
133,718
13,375
22,000
39,886
3,337
3,237
8,903
6,496
e
2,677
27,785
34,798
15,175
e
1.23
1.15
0.96
1.32
1.70
1.21
1.23
0.47
e
0.74
0.71
0.74
0.88
e
a
b
OECD (2005).
China Statistical Yearbook (2001e2007); Raninger (2009).
transportation from the local collection points to points of treatment, and disposal, and is undertaken as a municipal responsibility.
Waste collection services vary enormously between Chinese cities
and even within different parts of cities. In Beijing, the waste
collection services to the modern, high-rise apartment blocks of
downtown are adequate, while refuse collection systems in the
poorer suburban areas are considerably more rudimentary.
For residential areas, there are two type of urban solid waste
collection: collection at roadsides and household collection. Roadside waste collection is a method whereby residents sort recyclable
items into the specic collection containers offered by the local
authorities. According to Chung and Poon (2001), the old household collection systems included ring bell and collection and
refuse chute. The former term refers to the fact that residents are
reminded by the collection crews ringing bell to bring the trash to
the street level for disposal. This type of operation is very popular in
southern China (e.g., Guang Zhou). With fast urbanization, highrise buildings are appearing in large numbers. Therefore,
a centralized facility, usually called refuse chute has been introduced and implemented. However, Ring bell and collection and
Table 3
Comparison of typical distribution of MSW composition in various cities in China.
Composition (%)
Organic garbage
Paper
Plastic
Glass
Metal
Textile ber
Wood timber
Ash
Beijing (2006)a
Shanghai (2009)b
Tianjin (2007)c
Shen Yang (2007)d
Hangzhou (2009)e
Qingdao (1998)f
Tibet (2009)g
Ningbo (1998)f
Guanghan (1998)h
Chongqing (2006)i
Guangzhou (1999)g
Shenzhen (1998)f
Hong Kong (2009)j
63.39
66.70
56.88
73.70
57.00
42.20
72.00
53.70
50.70
59.20
58.10
40.00
44.00
11.07
4.46
8.67
7.60
15.00
4.00
6.00
5.40
8.80
10.10
6.30
17.00
26.00
12.70
19.98
12.12
5.20
3.00
11.20
12.00
7.90
6.10
15.70
14.50
13.00
18.00
1.76
2.72
1.30
2.40
8.00
2.20
e
2.40
0.6
3.40
2.00
5.00
3.00
0.27
0.27
0.42
0.30
3.00
1.10
1.00
1.00
0.2
1.10
0.60
3.00
2.00
2.46
1.80
2.47
0.90
2.00
3.20
7.00
3.00
0.60
6.10
4.80
5.00
3.00
1.78
1.21
1.93
1.70
2.00
e
e
1.10
0.20
4.20
3.10
e
1.00
5.87
2.77
16.21
e
4
e
e
e
32.80
e
9.00
e
e
1626
Table 4
Comparison of typical distribution of MSW composition between China and other countries.
Composition (%)
Organic garbage
Paper/
cardboard
Plastic
Glass
Metal
Textile
Wood
Ash
China (2003)a
52.6
6.9
7.3
1.6
0.5
Singapore (2008)b
USA (2005)c
Japan (2000)c
Korea (2005)c
Canada (2005)c
France (2005)c
Netherlands (2005)c
Germany (2005)c
Switzerland (2005)c
Australia (2005)c
Mexico (2005)c
Slovak R. (2005)c
Portugal (2005)c
Hungary (2005)c
9.5
25.0
34.0
28.0
24.0
32.0
35.0
14.0
29.0
47.0
51.0
38.0
34.0
29.0
21.2
34.0
33.0
24.0
47.0
20.0
26.0
34.0
20.0
23.0
15.0
13.0
21.0
15.0
11.5
12.0
13.0
8.0
3.0
9.0
19.0
22.0
15.0
4.0
6.0
7.0
11.0
17.0
1.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
6.0
10.0
4.0
12.0
4.0
7.0
6.0
8.0
7.0
2.0
14.6
8.0
3.0
7.0
13.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
3.0
5.0
3.0
3.0
4.0
2.0
Europe (average)a
Low-income countriesd
Middle-income countriesd
Upper-income countriesd
30.0
40e85
20e65
6e30
32.0
1e10
8e30
25e66
7.0
1e5
2e6
2e8
10.0
1e10
1e10
4e12
8.0
1e5
1e5
3e13
4.0
1e5
2e10
2e6
Construction
debrits
Horticultural
waste
Others
4.7
6.9
19.2
1.6
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
4.5
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
9.5
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
15.4
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
3.8
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
7.5
16.0
12.0
28.0
8.0
26.0
12.0
12.0
29.0
13.0
18.0
31.0
23.0
35.0
e
e
e
e
9.0
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
refuse chute have already been taken out of service and have been
replaced by the new system since 2000. Now residents are advised
to place their waste in bags and deposit their garbage in the
appointed garbage bins outside the residents house for collection
under the new system, and then the waste is transported by truck
to a transfer station. This system is usually carried out by
a community or business entity in China.
3.2. Waste separation and recycling
MSW is generally composed of three groups of materials:
organic waste (kitchen waste, garden waste, etc), non-recyclable
inorganic waste (coal ash, cinder, dust, etc), and recyclable waste
(paper, plastics, glass, metal, etc.). At present, MSW is collected in
Road cleaning
refuse
Refuse
container
Household
By residents
or private
collector
By CSB
Collection
Site
Institutional
refuse
By CSB
Commercial
refuse
By each
institution
Transfer station
(Recyclable waste separation)
Waste
generation
By each
market
Waste
collection &
separation
By CSB
By CSB
Industrial
recycle and
reuse
Waste
treatment &
disposal
Selling price to
waste (RMB)
0.3e0.4
0.1
0.08
0.02
0.08
0.04
0.4 per kg
0.25 per kg
4e5 (for refrigerator),
negotiable
0.5
0.2
0.12
0.03e0.04
0.12
0.05
0.5 per kg
0.3 per kg
Unknown
Uncollected
waste 30%
Controlled
landfills with
basic sanitary
facilities 24%
composting
1.5%
Incineration
4.5%
Uncotrolled
landfill 40%
1627
1628
Table 6
Current status of MSW disposal in China (China Statistical Yearbook, 2001e2007).
Year
Collected &
transported MSW
(104 tonnes)
Numbers of
facilities for
treatment
Treatment
capacity
(tonnes/year)
Numbers of
landll
facilities
Numbers of
incineration
facilities
Numbers of
compositing
plants
Waste disposal
(104 tonnes)
Waste disposal
in a simple way
(104 tonnes)
Treatment
rate (%)
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
14856.5
15509.3
15576.8
14841.3
15214.5
575
559
471
419
460
219,607
238,591
256,312
258,048
271,791
457
444
356
324
366
47
54
67
69
66
70
61
46
20
17
7544.7
8088.7
8051.1
7872.6
9437.7
4631.8
4457.7
4444.3
e
e
50.8
52.1
51.7
52.2
62.0
Table 7
Comparison of administrative, socio-economic characteristics, waste management situations between large cities in China and other developed Asian countries.
Beijing (2007)
Shanghai (2007)a
Tianjin (2007)a
Guangzhou (2007)a
Chongqing (2007)a
Hong Kong (2006)b
Singapore (2000)c
Japan (1989)d
Tai Wan (2006)b
Population
(million)
Area
(km2)
GDP
(US$/capita)
MSW rate
(kg/capita/day)
Total waste
generated
(million t/y)
Incineration
Landll
Incineration
Landll
16.33
18.58
11.15
5.82
28.16
6.99
3.89
e
23
16,808
6340
11,305
7263
82,403
1042
707
e
e
7700
7000
6065
9302
1834
24,282
21,113
e
e
0.85
0.96
e
1.22
1.08
1.33
0.96
1.1
0.6
6.01
6.91
1.65
e
2.01
0.17
e
50.2
8.3
2
2
5
2
1
e
4
1841
26
13
4
2
2
9
3
2
2361
e
2
e
e
e
e
e
87
74.3
83
94
e
e
e
e
90
13
25.7
17
1629
(2008) reported that most of the landlls in major cities that were
built in the early 1990s have now reached the end of their design
service life. Expansion of the existing landlls facilities is presently
being undertaken in many cities of China.
4.4. Incineration
1630
1631
1632
Geng, Y., Zhu, Q.H., Haight, 2007, 2007. Planning for integrated solid waste
management at industrial park level: a case of Tianjin, China. Waste Management 27, 141e150.
He, P.J., Zhang, H., Zhang, C.G., Lee, D.J., 2004. Characteristics of air pollution control
residues of MSW incineration plant in Shanghai. Journal of Hazardous Materials
B116, 229e237.
Hong, R.J., Wang, G.F., Guo, R.Z., Cheng, X., Liu, Q., Zhang, P.J., Qian, G.R., 2006. Life
cycle assessment of BMT-based integrated municipal solid waste management:
case study in Pudong, China. Resource, Conservation and Recycling 49,
129e146.
Hu, D., Wang, R., Yan, J., Xu, C., Wang, Y., 1998. A pilot ecological engineering project
for municipal solid waste reduction, disinfection, regeneration and industrialization in Guanghan City, China. Ecological Engineering 11, 129e138.
Huang, Q.F., Wang, Q., Dong, L., Xi, B.D., Zhou, B.Y., 2006. The current situation of
solid waste management in China. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste
Management 8, 63e69.
Ishigaki, T., Inanc. B., Okhouchi, Y., Mohri, S., Yamada, M., Inoue, Y., Kazakai, T.,
Nagamori, M., Ono, Y., 2002. Relationship between gas ux and ground
temperature on a surface of a waste landll site. In: Proceeding of the
Second Asia Pacic Landll Symposium, September 25e28, Seoul, Korea, pp
477e481.
Jiang, J.G., Lou, Z.Y., Ng, S., Ciren, L., Ji, D., 2009. The current municipal solid waste
management situation in Tibet. Waste Management 29, 1186e1191.
Ko, P.S., Poon, C.S., 2009. Domestic waste management and recovery in Hong Kong.
Journal of Mater Cycles Waste Management 11, 104e109.
Li, Z.S., Yang, L., Qu, X.Y., Sui, Y.M., 2009. Municipal solid waste management in
Beijing City. Waste Management 29, 2596e2599.
Li, M., Hu, S., Xiang, J., Sun, L., Li, P., Su, S., Sun, X., 2003. Characterization of y ashes
from two Chinese municipal solid waste incineration. Energy and Fuels 17,
1487e1491.
Liu, Z.Q., Liu, Z.H., Li, X.L., 2006. Status and prospect of the application of municipal
solid waste incineration in China. Applied Thermal Engineering 26, 1193e1197.
Ministry of Construction P.R.C., 2007.
Mo, H.P., Wen, Z.G., Chen, J.N., 2009. Chinas recyclable resources recycling system
and policy: a case study in Suzhou. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 53,
409e419.
National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore, 2008 Available from: http://app2.
nea.gov.sg/index.aspx (accessed 20.05.09).
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2005. Environment Data: Compendium 2005 Available from: http://www.oecd.org/
dataoecd/22/58/41878186.pdf (accessed 02.11.09).
Pfammatter, R., Schertenleib, R., 1996. Non-governmental Refuse Collection in Lowincome Urban Areas: Lesson Learned from Selected Schemes in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America. SANDEC Report 1/96. Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental
Science and Technology, Dubendorf, Switzerland.
Qu, X.Y., Li, Z.S., Xie, X.Y., Sui, Y.M., Yang, L., Chen, Y., 2009. Survey of composition
and generation rate of household wastes in Beijing, China. Waste Management
29, 2618e2624.
Raninger, B., March 25, 2009. Management and Utilization of Municipal and Agricultural Bioorganic Waste in Europe and China. Workshop in School of Civil
Environmental Engineering. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Rissane, J., Naarajrvi, T., 2004. China Waste Management. Working Paper for
Streams Technology Programme.
Ross, J., 2008. Management of Municipal Solid Waste in Hong Kong and Taiwan - A
China Environmental Health Project Research Brief. Environmental Health
Research Briefs and Fact Sheet (1008/2009). Produced as Part of the China
Environment Forums partnership with Western Kentucky University on the
USAID-supported China Environmental Health Project (CEHP) Available from:.
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/taiwan_hk_trash_mar08.pdf
(accessed 20.05.09).
Sakai, S., Sawell, S.E., Chandler, A.J., Eighmy, T.T., Kosson, D.S., Vehlow, J., van der
Sloot, H.A., Hartlen, J., Hjelmar, O., 1996. World trends in municipal solid waste
management. Waste Management 16 (5/6), 341e350.
Solenthaler, B., Bunge, R., 2006. Waste Incineration in China. HSR Hochschule fuer
Technik, Rapperswil, Swiss, Institut fuer angewandte Umwelttechnik (Institute
for Applied Environmental Technology).
Taylor, D.C., 1999. Mobilizing resources to collect municipal solid waste: illustrative
East Asian case studies. Waste Management Research 17, 263e274.
Tchobanoglus, G., Theisen, H., Vigil, S.A., 1993. Integrated Solid Waste Management:
Engineering Principles and Management Issues. In: McGraw Hill for Mainland
China Edition (Ed.). McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., and Tsinghua University
Press, Beijing, China.
Trnkler, J., 2002. A Comparison of the Solid Waste Management of Industrialized
Countries and Newly Industrialized Nations e Recent Trend, Lessons Learned
and Options for Future Development. International Symposium on the Technology and Management of the Treatment and Reuse of the Municipal Solid
Waste, Shanghai, China, 2002.
Troschinetz, A.M., Mihelcic, J.R., 2009. Sustainable recycling of municipal solid
waste in developing countries. Waste Management 29, 915e931.
Vehlow, J., 1996. Municipal solid waste management in Germany. Waste Management 16, 367e374.
Visvanathan, C., Trnkler, J, Basnayake, B.F.A., 2004. Landll management in
Asia e notions about future approaches to appropriate and sustainable
solutions. In: Tenth International Waste Management and Landll Symposium, Sardinia.
1633
Zerbock, O., 2003. Urban Solid Waste Management: Waste Reduction in Developing
Nations. Written for the Requirements of CE 5993 Field Engineering in the
Developing World. Michigan Technological University.
Zhan, L.T., Chen, Y.M., Ling, W.A., 2008. Shear strength characterization of municipal
solid waste at the Suzhou Landll, China. Engineering Geology 97, 97e111.
Zhao, W., Voet, E., Zhang, Y., Huppes, G., 2009a. Life cycle assessment of municipal
solid waste management with regard to greenhouse gas emissions: case study
of Tianjin, China. Science of the Total Environment 407, 1517e1526.
Zhao, Y., Wang, H.T., Lu, W.J., 2009b. Life-cycle assessment of the municipal solid
waste management system in Hangzhou, China. Waste Management Research
27, 399e406.
Zhu, M.H., FanXi, M., Rovetta, A., He, Q., Vicentini, F., Liu, B.K., Giusti, A., Liu, Y., 2009.
Municipal Solid Waste Management in Pudong New Area, China. Waste
Management 29, 1227e1233.
Zhuang, Y., Wu, S.W., Wang, Y.L., Wu, W.X., Chen, Y.X., 2008. Source separation of
household waste: a case study in China. Waste Management 28, 2022e2030.
Zurbrgg, C. Urban solid waste management in low-income countries of Asia e how
to cope with the garbage crises. Urban Solid Waste Management Review
Session, Durban, South Africa, November 2002.