National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held a special press conference on September 23 to introduce the overall progress and effectiveness of policies on large-scale equipment renewal and consumer product trade-in programs. Zhao Chenxin, a member of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the NDRC, disclosed at the meeting that China Resource Recycling Group is currently under establishment.

This marks the first official disclosure at the official level regarding the establishment progress of the China Resource Recycling Group.

In response to the question about "specific measures to promote recycling in the next step," Zhao Chenxin stated that the NDRC, in conjunction with relevant parties, will accelerate the construction of a waste recycling system covering all fields and links, continuously smooth the resource recycling chain, and promote the realization of "easier disposal of old items and more convenient replacement with new ones."

1. Accelerate the development of the "replacement + recycling" logistics system and new models, and further improve the recycling network for waste products and equipment.

2. Strengthen the extension of producer responsibility, support enterprises in building a reverse logistics system for recycling waste products, promote the efficient use of retired wind power photovoltaics, power batteries, etc. At the same time, support the establishment of China Resource Recycling Group and promote the establishment of a national and functional resource recycling platform.

3. Optimize the management of second-hand car transaction registration, improve relevant resource import standards and policies, and build a larger international recycling system.

This year, the national level has issued several green and low-carbon related policy documents, emphasizing the importance of resource recycling and regeneration.

In March, the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Promoting Large-scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Product Trade-in," proposing actions for recycling and reuse, including improving the recycling network for waste products and equipment, supporting the circulation and transaction of second-hand goods, orderly promoting remanufacturing and cascade utilization, and promoting high-level resource recycling.

In May, the State Council issued the "Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan for 2024-2025," proposing to accelerate the construction of the waste material recycling system, strengthen the supply and demand docking of waste product and equipment recycling and disposal; carry out enterprise recycling target responsibility system actions; strengthen the recycling and utilization of industrial equipment, information and communication, wind power photovoltaics, power batteries, etc.; establish a basic database for important resource consumption, recycling and utilization, disposal, and consumption of recycled raw materials.

Zhao Chenxin introduced at the aforementioned press conference that in response to issues such as low quality of recycled resource regeneration and utilization, the NDRC has carried out in-depth construction of national "urban mining" demonstration bases, 60 key cities for waste material recycling, and 100 demonstration projects for comprehensive utilization of bulk solid waste, guiding the recycling and utilization industry of renewable resources to further concentrate and scale development.

So far, the comprehensive utilization rate of bulk solid waste in the country has reached 59%, and the utilization volume of 10 major renewable resources such as waste steel and non-ferrous metals has been growing significantly every year, with the annual utilization volume of waste steel reaching 260 million tons. Market sources say that this "national team" giant will be jointly funded by several state-owned enterprises, including China National Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited, China Aluminum Corporation Limited, China Minmetals Corporation Limited, China National Building Material Group Corporation Limited, and China Resources (Group) Corporation Limited.

Source: "Decision Magazine", 23 September 2024.