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On 25th June, the new draft revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution was submitted to the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for review for the first time. On 5th July, NPC released the full contents of the draft and sought feedback on the draft from the public.
The last major revision of the law was fourteen years ago, so many new contents appeared in this draft revision. During the Standing Committee meeting, the Minister of Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) introduced the draft revision. Topics such as disposal of hazardous waste, management of industrial waste, domestic waste sorting system and so on were heatedly discussed. According to recent news releases, here are the major additions related with chemical manufacturers.
The Transfer and Disposal of Hazardous Waste
After the Liquidation and Clean-up Operations carried out by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, major problems related to the generation of large amount of hazardous waste and related hazardous waste treatment capacity issues were exposed. Additionally, the results of various special actions and environmental supervision campaigns revealed a large number of common illegal activities involving inter-provincial transfer and disposal of hazardous waste. For these reasons, the revised draft calls for strengthening the construction of centralized disposal facilities for hazardous wastes and the management of inter-provincial transfer.
Establishing Environmental Pollution Liability Insurance System
Compared with normal solid waste, the treatment of hazardous waste costs much more money. Many of the major polluting enterprises cannot afford waste treatment costs, meaning the government has no choice but to pay for it. To improve this situation, enterprises involved in the collection, storage, transport, usage and disposal of hazardous waste must take out insurance to cover any accidents.
Establishing Solid Waste Discharge Permit System
According to the draft, it clearly required that solid waste is to be included in the waste discharge permit system and will fall under the “Single License Management”. The units that produce solid wastes are also required to report the type, amount, flow, storage, disposal and any other relevant information of the wastes and make sure waste is treated as per the stipulations of the certificate.
More Stringent Punishments Will Be Imposed on Violators
The draft stipulates strict legal liability for illegal acts such as unauthorized dumping, stacking, and discarding of industrial solid waste and hazardous waste. To align with the Environmental Protection Tax Law, hazardous waste discharge fees are eliminated, and environmental protection tax provisions are added in the draft. Other punishments will include seizure of solid waste and suspension of production to allow for remediation and various other administrative enforcement measures. Financial punishments have also been significantly increased.
The draft revision was approved by the State Council executive meeting in June and will be implemented after it has been reviewed and revised by NPC. According to the current progress, it is very likely the new law will enter into force in 2019.
What is the “Single License Management”? |
First of all, the “single license” is the “waste discharge permit” that the producer of the solid waste achieved from the government. Then, although the solid waste may be transferred for collection, usage and disposal and so on, the producer should be the first to take the accountability if accidents happen in no matter transport or other sections. All in all, the “Single License Management” emphasizes the main responsibility of the waste producer, which will not transfer with the transfer of the solid waste. |
(Note: This piece of news is rewritten based on China to Strengthen the management of Domestic Waste and Industrial Solid Waste)
