General Situation

In 2005, 1.34 billion tons of industrial solid wastes were generated across the country, up by 12.0% against the previous year while the discharge of industrial solid wastes was 16.547 million tons, down by 6.1% compared with that of 2004. The amount of industrial solid wastes under integrated reuse totaled 770 million tons, resulting in an integrated utilization rate of 56.1%, same as that of the previous year.

Countermeasures and Actions

【Development of Relevant Laws, Regulations and Standards】 On April 1^st of 2005, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes was put into effect. The SEPA also issued the Measures on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Abandoned Hazardous Chemicals, released the environmental protection control standards for 12 types of imported solid wastes as raw materials after necessary revision and formulated and released the environmental protection control standards for imported solid wastes as raw materials—compressed piece of scrap automobile.

In 2005, the General Administration of Quality Supervision，Inspection and Quarantine worked out and issued the notice on the prohibition of the regeneration of kinescope from waste glass under the joint efforts with SEPA and other relevant departments. Besides, the Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs and the SEPA jointly released No. 105 Notice on the prohibition of the processing and trading of certain commodities, banning the processing and trading of 16 types of imported wastes including waste and scrap copper.

【Environmental Management on Medical Wastes】 In 2005, teamed up with the Ministry of Public Health, SEPA conducted another round of special investigation on the management and disposal of medical wastes based on the similar checkup initiated in 2004. The two ministries jointly released the Circular on Some Issues Concerning the Classification of Medical Wastes in a bid to further step up and standardize the management of medical wastes. SEPA issued some related standards including the Technical Specification on the Project Construction of Centralized Incineration Disposal of Medical Wastes.

【Prevention and Control of Pollution from Electronic Wastes】 Under the concerted instruction of the SEPA, NDRC and Ministry of Information Industry, Guangdong Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau asked Shantou Municipal Government to compile the Planning of the Industrial Demonstration Park on the Integrated Utilization of Waste Electric Appliances, thus stimulating the work on the prevention and control of environmental pollution from electronic wastes in Guiyu Town of Shantou City, Guangdong Province.

【Management of Imported Wastes】In 2005, SEPA distributed the Circular on Furthering the Administration Regarding the Examination and Approval of Imported Waste Steel amid its efforts to better the examination and approval as well as management work of imported waste steel. On October 10, SEPA began to get access to the electronic port network of various customs in its examination and approval of wastes import. Such a move have increased its work efficiency and strengthened the macro regulation of government department.

In an effort to reinforce the check and approval of designated enterprises to process and utilize waste hardware electric appliances, waste wires and cables and waste electric motors, SEPA had altogether designated 502 such enterprises (in 3 groups) for 2005 in 28 provinces and municipalities in 2005. Besides, SEPA also intensified the check and approval of imported wastes and the supervision and administration of enterprises engaged in the processing and utilization of such wastes. In 2005, the Administration had dispatched over 40 person/times for site inspection on over 70 enterprises in 20 provinces and found out more than 300 fake certifications accordingly.

The work on "zoned management" on imported wastes was further promoted. In August of 2005, SEPA published the Technical Specification on the Environmental Protection Regarding the Centralized Dismantlement and Utilization of Waste Electric Motor. Correspondingly, various provinces and autonomous regions like Shandong, Hebei and Guangxi all initiated the construction of processing parks of imported wastes, and Jiangsu Province unfolded its construction of the pilot zone on the dismantlement of compressed piece of scrap automobile.

【Implementation of International Conventions】In 2005, the Chinese Government ratified the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, started relevant implementation work and participated in relevant meetings regarding this Convention subsequently. It had also participated, for the first time, in the Meeting on Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Additionally, SEPA had organized and hosted the Sino-Norwegian Workshop on the Environmental Management of Hazardous Wastes from the Disposal of Cement Kilns, organized the convocation of the International Conference on the Management Policy and Treatment and Disposal Technologies of Hazardous Wastes, which drove up the management of domestic hazardous wastes and jointly launched the Sino-Germany Program on the Management of Waste Pesticides with Germany together with the Ministry of Agriculture.

【Activities on Urban Environmental Sanitation and Cleanup】A total of 3.11 billion m² road area were under regular cleanup during 2005, 660 million m² of which was cleaned by mechanic means, taking up 21.11% of the total area, up by 3.1 percentage points than 2004. The amount of domestic refuse and excrement cleared and transported away in 2005 totaled 195 million tons. In medium and large sized cities, daily refuse and excrements could be basically cleared away on the same day as they are produced.