SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CHINA: ISSUES AND OPTIONS.

This paper contributes to China's municipal solid waste discussions by presenting updated and relatively accurate projections of municipal waste quantities and composition. By 2030, the amount of waste generated in urban areas will grow more than 150 percent. No country has ever experienced as large an increase in such a short period of time. China needs to reassess the methods it uses to collect and dispose of this amount of waste in order to minimize local and global environmental impacts. This report encourages movement up the "waste management hierarchy," promoting waste minimization, reuse, and recycling before other waste disposal methods are pursued. Even after aggressive waste minimization, in the next 20 years 1400 landfills will still be needed. Landfill operations need to be more efficient and wide-scale development of incineration capacity more cautious. Among other recommendations, the report encourages the establishment of 3 'pilot' cities to introduce replicable sustainable waste management models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]