Recently, the "Action Plan for Comprehensive Management of Solid Waste," drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission together with 25 departments including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was publicly released. On January 13, the State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing to introduce the relevant information about the "Action Plan."

Zhou Haibing, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated at the meeting that the action plan is my country's first special document to systematically deploy comprehensive solid waste management, aiming to fill institutional gaps in key areas, improve its pertinence, innovation, and effectiveness, and promote the resolution of key and difficult issues that have plagued the industry for many years. The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment should strengthen overall coordination, promote the implementation of various tasks in the action plan, and promptly evaluate progress and effectiveness.

Zhou Haibing also stated that this year, the National Development and Reform Commission will take the lead in formulating the "15th Five-Year Plan" for the development of the circular economy, clarifying the development goals and tasks of the circular economy in key areas, and deploying key measures for the recycling and utilization of traditional renewable resources, rare and precious metals, and "new three types" of solid waste.

The action plan focuses on major waste-generating sectors such as industry, urban areas, agriculture, and forestry, and clarifies the governance tasks for each stage.

Regarding the comprehensive utilization of industrial solid waste, Wang Peng, Director of the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that efforts should be made to promote "one reduction and one increase".

The first step is to reduce the intensity of industrial solid waste generation. This involves promoting green design at the production front end and green manufacturing during the production process to reduce industrial solid waste generation at the source and improve the greenness of industrial products. Focusing on key waste-generating industries such as steel, non-ferrous metals, and petrochemicals, industrial parks and enterprises should be guided to carry out "zero-waste" transformations in accordance with the guidelines for building "zero-waste parks" and "zero-waste enterprises," thereby reducing the intensity of solid waste generation in industrial production processes and improving the usability of solid waste.

The "first upgrade" aims to improve the comprehensive utilization level of industrial solid waste and recycled resources, strengthen the comprehensive utilization of bulk industrial solid waste, and actively promote the research and development and industrialization of advanced comprehensive utilization technologies, focusing on typical categories such as smelting slag, phosphogypsum, and red mud. It also involves continuously selecting from the "National Catalogue of Advanced and Applicable Process Technologies and Equipment for Comprehensive Utilization of Industrial Resources," strengthening supply and demand matching, and promoting the application of advanced technologies. Furthermore, it emphasizes strengthening the recycling of recycled resources, focusing on key areas such as scrap steel, scrap copper and aluminum, waste paper, waste plastics, and waste tires, continuously implementing standardized industry management, and guiding relevant enterprises to strengthen technological innovation and product quality control.

The Action Plan clearly states that by 2030, significant results will be achieved in the special campaign to address solid waste in key areas, historical stockpiles will be effectively controlled, the high incidence of illegal dumping and disposal will be curbed, the annual comprehensive utilization of bulk solid waste will reach 4.5 billion tons, the annual recycling of major renewable resources will reach 510 million tons, and the comprehensive management capacity and level of solid waste will be significantly improved.