China to build over 3,700 cities for zero-waste future

China is making significant strides in its zero-waste city initiative, with plans to build over 3,700 such cities by 2025. The country’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced that the project has received over US$140 billion in investment as part of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). This is reported by CGTN, a partner of TV BRICS.

The initiative, which began in 2019 with 11 pilot cities and five districts, aims to reduce waste generation at source and increase recycling rates. Currently, 113 cities and eight districts are in the process of becoming zero-waste cities. In Zhuhai, Guangdong province in southern China, a food waste recycling plant, completed in early 2024, can process 500 tonnes of food waste per day, extracting 8.25 tonnes of crude oil and generating approximately 29,000 kilowatt-hours of green electricity, enough to power around 2,900 homes.

In Xinchang County, Zhejiang Province, in eastern China, another innovative method uses biodegradation to process food waste. Waste is separated into liquid and solid components. The liquid is treated for industrial use, while the solid waste is ground and used to feed black soldier fly larvae. 60 per cent of the solid waste is eventually transformed into adult insects that can be sold to local fish farmers, while the remaining waste becomes organic fertiliser.

Construction waste is also being effectively reused. In Chongqing municipality in southwest China, useless construction materials are being recycled into pavement bricks.

The project, which involves government agencies, businesses, and schools, has seen the construction of over 25,000 production and residential buildings to implement the zero-waste city concept.

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