China backs establishment of a national recycling group

BEIJING: China’s state planner said on Monday it supports the establishment of a national resources recycling group as part of its efforts to improve recycling in various industries.
Industry sources have previously said China was planning to set up a state-run company specialising in recycling across sectors including steel, base metals, plastics and chemicals.
The National Development and Reform Commission did not provide a timeline or other details on how the recycling group would work during a Monday media briefing focused on China’s ongoing efforts to encourage equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins in order to bolster the economy.
That effort is creating growing stocks of waste for recycling, Zhao Chenxin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at the briefing.
China, the world’s top consumer of numerous commodities, has also sought to raise the recycling rate for goods in order to ease its reliance on raw materials, many of which it needs to import in large quantities.
China’s current utilisation rate of commodity solid waste is at 59 per cent, with large increases seen each year in the use of steel scrap and non-ferrous metals scrap, Zhao said.
The NDRC will also work with relevant parties to accelerate the development of a logistics system and new models for trade-in and recycling, he added.