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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 [1] and started a public consultation. The consultation will end on 3rd August.With the last major revision made fourteen years ago, the draft involves a lot of new content. During the Standing Committee meeting, the Minister of Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) introduced the draft revision which was heatedly debated. The following are major additions to the law according to recent news releases.
Domestic Waste Disposal is Incorporated into the Law
In the draft revision, a chapter, rather than a section as in the past, was dedicated to "Prevention and Control of Domestic Waste Pollution". This expressly indicates that China will implement categorized management of domestic waste. A domestic waste disposal system involving categorized delivery, collection, transportation and treatment is going to be established according to the draft. Some provisions of the draft revision are designed to reduce the burden of domestic waste disposal from the source. For example, producers of electrical and electronic products should establish a recycling system for used products that matches the sales volume of products. The state also encourages industries such as e-commerce and express delivery to give priority to the use of reusable, recyclable packaging.
Management of Industrial Solid Waste is Strengthened
Measures will be taken to enhance the supervision and management system for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes, such as establishing a credit record system. What's more, the accountability of industrial solid waste producers will be strengthened. They will be required to establish and improve the accountability system for pollution prevention and control throughout the entire process and verify the qualifications and technical capabilities of entrusted parties during the life cycle of any solid waste.
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. The provision for continuous daily punishment has been added, and legal liabilities have been bolstered by increasing punishment to include incarceration for illegal activities such as unauthorized transfer of hazardous waste. Financial punishments have also strengthened significantly as well.
The draft revision was approved by the State Council executive meeting earlier this month and will be implemented soon after being reviewed and revised by NPC. At that time, China's solid waste treatment will be practiced in a stricter and more scientific fashion. Chemlinked will report more details about the law when the draft revision is finalized.
