Liangjiang advances 'zero-waste' initiative

Mingyue Lake in Liangjiang New Area boasts crystal-clear water due to its efforts to implement a zero-waste initiative. [Photo/WeChat account of Liangjiang New Area]

Liangjiang New Area is making significant strides in its quest to become a zero-waste region, focusing on standardization, reduction, and resource utilization.

This initiative aims to foster green development and lifestyles, minimize solid waste generation at the source, and maximize resource recovery, thereby reducing landfill dependency. It represents a crucial opportunity and a powerful tool for accelerating green, low-carbon, and high-quality development.

The initiative includes the creation of zero-waste enterprises, government agencies, and communities, which are essential components in the development of a zero-waste city. To date, Liangjiang has established 69 such zero-waste units.

Emphasizing source reduction, Liangjiang aligns with its modern manufacturing industrial cluster plan and has implemented an entry system to curb blind investment in high-energy, high-pollution, and low-efficiency projects. Consequently, 68 green manufacturing units, factories, and parks have been established.

Building on its reduction efforts, Liangjiang is also advancing the resource utilization of solid and hazardous waste. The area encourages enterprises to innovate through technological breakthroughs and the development of green industrial chains to enhance the recycling of resources.

For instance, BOE Technology Group Co has modified part of its production lines for water recycling, saving approximately 10,000 cubic meters of water daily.

Additionally, the introduction of a solid waste disposal company has enabled the annual on-site recycling of over 8,000 metric tons of waste-stripping liquid, reducing hazardous waste disposal costs by around 16 million yuan ($2.21 million).

Changan Auto has implemented measures to reduce and safely dispose of biochemical sludge from factory wastewater treatment, cutting hazardous waste by about 400 tons annually and saving approximately 800,000 yuan in disposal costs.

For hazardous waste, Liangjiang has established stringent management protocols, dynamically updating lists of hazardous waste producers, self-utilization and disposal facilities, key regulatory units, hazardous waste operators, and storage facilities.

The area also conducts special rectifications and standardized assessments, and has implemented a fine management system to create a comprehensive data chain for the entire lifecycle of hazardous waste.

Liangjiang also bolsters green financial support. By utilizing financial services and leverage, the area channels funds into green, zero-waste, and low-carbon environmental industries, fostering synergistic pollution reduction and carbon reduction for high-quality development.

In the residential sector, Liangjiang actively promotes waste sorting, establishing a three-tiered leadership mechanism encompassing the district, subdistricts, and communities. The area is also accelerating the cultivation of zero-waste units, integrating green development and lifestyles into the smallest social units.

Liangjiang will continue its efforts across the industrial, construction, and residential sectors by refining tasks and establishing regulations to advance the zero-waste initiative.