China looks to tackle its growing waste problem

China is aiming to reuse 60% of its urban household waste by 2025, seeing an increase from 50% last year as the nation looks to better handle its waste management after failing to meet some previous goals.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) revealed on Thursday its plans to deal with the growing issue of waste, which is becoming a major issue for Chinese regulators.

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Rising populations continue to make use of consumer goods at an industrial scale with most major cities being surrounded by large landfills that continue to grow.

The leftover waste becomes a breeding ground for insects and rodents and could lead to serious hygiene issues.

The NDRC said urban waste handling capacity reached 1.27 million tonnes per day last year, seeing a 63% rise in five years. This has resulted in certain parts of the country being unable to cope with the rising trash volumes.

In a statement, the firm announced that many Chinese cities have not built incinerators and many more have failed to properly deal with targets on dealing with hazardous refuse.

As part of this new initiative, the Chinese government will also look to increase incineration rates to 65%, up from 45% last year.

China is currently implementing regulations to encourage people to better dispose of their trash and is also in the process of phasing out single-use plastics and non-recyclable packaging.

It also implemented a ban on the importing of solid foreign waste which came into effect on January 1.

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This was in part due to richer countries using developing nations as dumping grounds as a way of getting rid of their rubbish.

This has been a growing concern for countries such as India or several African nations for a number of years.

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