How to recycle low-value recyclables at a high value

According to the "Research Report on the Recycling of Low-value Recyclables in China" released by the Institute of Economic System and Management of the National Development and Reform Commission on the 8th, in 2021, in addition to bulky garbage, China's various low-value recyclables will produce about 95.77 million tons, and the recycling volume will be about 25.47 million tons, with a total recovery rate of about 26.6%, and about 70 million tons will be mixed into domestic waste incineration or landfill, which is far lower than the average recycling rate of more than 75% of China's major renewable resources.

What is a low-value recyclable

Low-value recyclables are the opposite concept of high-value wastes such as scrapped cars and waste household appliances, which mainly refer to all kinds of wastes that have a certain recycling value in production and life, and can be recycled through certain technical and economic means and obtain certain economic benefits.

According to the report, in 2021, China produced a total of 50.21 million tons of waste low-value plastic packaging, 22.75 million tons of waste glass, 21.24 million tons of waste textiles, 1.32 million tons of agricultural mulch film, 640,000 tons of beverage paper-based composite packaging, 125,600 tons of fertilizer packaging and 117,000 tons of pesticide packaging. In addition to the recycling rate of waste agricultural mulch film reaching 60.6%, the recycling rates of pesticide packaging waste, beverage paper-based composite packaging, daily waste glass, waste textiles, and low-value plastic packaging were 58.6%, 33.1%, 27.1%, 21% and 19.5%, respectively, and the overall recycling rate was low.

"As the cost of human resources, transportation costs, etc. continues to rise, the recycling of certain recyclables has become unprofitable and has become recyclables with low or no economic value. Zhang Deyuan, director of the circular economy research office of the Institute of Economic System and Management of the National Development and Reform Commission, said.

According to the report, only 18 cities in the country have issued a "low-value recyclables catalog" or special management measures, etc., and appropriately subsidize the recycling of low-value recyclables. Zhang Deyuan believes that low-value recyclables are basically in the "three regardless" zone where local governments do not pay attention, enterprises are not enthusiastic about recycling, and the people's awareness of classification is indifferent.

Where is the way to increase the recycling rate of low-value recyclables

It is difficult to achieve the effective recycling of low-value recyclables by relying only on the spontaneous forces of enterprises and the market, and it is necessary to give full play to the joint force of "promising government" and "effective market" to correct "market failure".

The report proposes that the direction of China's low-value recyclables is to strengthen the top-level design and system supply, local governments to strengthen system construction and policy guarantees, enterprises to strengthen technological model innovation, and the broad participation of the masses of the people to form a governance pattern of co-governance and sharing of relevant subjects.

The report suggests that different types of low-value recyclables should be recycled according to their physical attributes and different recycling channels: for waste glass and waste textiles, it is advisable to adopt a franchise model and build an independent collection, transportation and disposal system; for waste fertilizer and pesticide packaging and mulch film, it is advisable to introduce an extended producer responsibility system, establish a regional recycling alliance, and adopt a deposit recycling model for centralized collection and disposal.

"Promoting the construction and improvement of the recycling system of low-value recyclables is an important part of building a waste recycling system, and it is also an important way to effectively deal with plastic pollution, scientifically utilize various resources, and improve resource output rate. Zhang Deyuan calculated an account: if by 2030, the recovery rate of low-value recyclables will be increased to 50%, and 47.9 million tons of low-value recyclables can be recycled every year, adding more than 45 million tons of renewable resources such as recycled plastics and recycled paper to the society, which can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 120 million tons and make a certain contribution to China's sustainable development.

Original question: How to use low-value recyclables at a high value