In July this year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other departments issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution", proposing to build a number of "waste-free cities" by 2030.
The urban development model of "waste-free city" does not mean that solid waste is not produced. Instead, it promotes the formation of green development methods and lifestyles, continues to promote source reduction and resource utilization of solid waste, minimizes the amount of landfill, and minimizes the impact of solid waste on the environment.
In 2024, Shanghai issued the first domestic local regulations on the construction of a "waste-free city" - the "Shanghai Regulations on the Construction of a Waste-free City". Wasted industrial activated carbon is "reborn" under high-temperature treatment, bio-natural gas produced by fermentation of pig manure supplies production and life, community "toy exchange houses" recycle old toys, and "zero-waste gardens" add greenness and color to the environment... From factories to farms, from enterprises to residents, the construction of a "waste-free city" with extensive participation is advancing in depth in Shanghai, providing a local sample for observation and reference.
Bags of waste activated carbon are poured into the elevator. After drying, carbonization, activation and other steps, their functions are restored and can be put back into use. In Shanghai Songjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone, the "rebirth" of discarded activated carbon is being staged in the workshop of Shanghai Jicheng Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd.
Activated carbon is used to absorb toxic and harmful substances in industrial production. After being discarded, it must be handed over to a certified unit for standardized disposal or resource regeneration. For enterprises, waste activated carbon treatment is a costly and time-consuming matter. The relevant person in charge of Shanghai Ajinomoto Amino Acid Co., Ltd. said: "We produce 250 tons of waste activated carbon annually, and the disposal fee used to be around one million yuan."
In the context of Shanghai's construction of a "waste-free city", the company has cooperated with Shanghai Integrated Recycling Company, which specializes in resource recycling.
"For every ton of waste activated carbon recovered from waste production enterprises, it can be processed into six to seven hundred kilograms of recycled carbon." Wang Hongli, deputy general manager of Shanghai Jicheng Company, said that this not only controls the company's processing costs, but also reduces the energy consumption of producing new activated carbon from the source, achieving carbon reduction and emission reduction. Currently, the company's processing capacity is 10,000 tons per year.
Next to this company's activated carbon production line, there are eight other "hazardous waste comprehensive utilization" production lines: metal sludge can be prepared to reduce copper, nickel and other metals; waste acid from the integrated circuit industry can be converted into a variety of chemical products...
The key to "no waste" industry lies in recycling. Focusing on key industries such as steel, electric power, and chemicals, Shanghai has implemented a "dual control" plan for the total amount of industrial solid waste generated and the intensity of production per unit product, and has built 196 national-level green factories and 8 national-level green parks. In 2025, the city's general industrial solid waste generation will be 21.398 million tons, with a comprehensive utilization rate of 98.2%, maintaining the leading level in the country.
In the 4-story pig house, about 40,000 pigs are eating in an orderly manner. In Langxia Town, Jinshan District, Shanghai, Fu Juanlin, general manager of Shanghai Songlin Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., walked in the lead and led guests to visit the company's large-scale ecological pig farm. "Everyone can experience it up close. You should not see feces or smell any odor."
Here, a fully automatic system operates throughout the day to collect pig manure into closed pipes and into anaerobic fermentation tanks for processing. The resulting products can be reused. "Beautify the environment and turn waste into treasure." Fu Juanlin said the advantages of this approach, "Raising pigs can also be clean."
The treatment of pig manure used to be something that troubled Fu Juanlin: if he wanted to reuse it, the treatment would be time-consuming and endless; hiring someone to deal with it would be costly.
In 2023, Shanghai Shenji Energy Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shenergy Group, searched extensively for environmentally friendly energy projects that could be implemented. It happened that Songlin Company had a need to process pig manure, and the two parties hit it off.
Soon, a new resource recycling model was established: pig manure was fermented to produce biogas through anaerobic fermentation, which was then purified into biogas. After meeting the standards, it was incorporated into the Shanghai natural gas pipeline network for production and life; biogas can be further converted into green methanol, which can be used as ship fuel; excess carbon dioxide and other substances during the treatment process can also be converted into high-end protein through microalgae treatment and used as feed or feed additives.
"Such a cycle allows companies to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and also allows cities to reduce emissions and become greener," said Lu Qiang, deputy general manager of Shanghai Shenji Energy and Environmental Technology Co., Ltd.
Relevant experiences have also been replicated and promoted. The Jinshan Dairy Farm of Guangming Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., also in Langxia Town, originally spent tens of thousands of yuan a year on manure disposal. Today, the cow manure from the cattle farm and the straw, fruit and vegetable waste in the town are all recycled and processed. The annual production of bio-natural gas is 1.835 million cubic meters, which is integrated into the city's natural gas pipeline network. The annual output of biogas residue is 31,000 tons and 148,000 tons of biogas liquid, which can be returned to the fields for use to improve soil fertility.
At present, Shanghai's large-scale livestock and poultry farms have 100% manure treatment facilities, and the comprehensive utilization rate of crop straw is stable at around 98%. The "no waste" concept has brought profound changes to the agricultural field.
Xinhua Road Street, Changning District, Shanghai, the sunshine is just right in the alley. Several residents are discussing sustainable community building at the Community Building Center. In the "Zero Waste Garden" not far away, some residents turned over the soil to plant flowers. Vanillas, lemons, kumquats, etc. were growing happily amid laughter.
Communities are an important part of building a “waste-free city”. How to mobilize residents’ enthusiasm for participating in construction? In 2021, Xinhua Road Subdistrict launched the "One Square Meter" action, which uses funds to support a number of actions that are beneficial to community construction every year, encouraging residents to spontaneously form teams, build and govern together, and make the community better.
When the action was launched, a group of mothers and fathers discussed the idea of building a "toy exchange house", hoping to help environmental protection and cultivate children's environmental awareness. Soon, the "Toy Exchange House" was supported by the "One Square Meter" operation and was built in the center of the street. Idle toys from various families gather in the house and participate in the exchange.
The "Zero Waste Garden" next to the Toy Exchange House is also a project supported by the "One Square Meter" action. The project concept was proposed by a sustainable designer within the street and received a large number of responses from residents. Everyone gathered together unused wooden boards, water pipes, flower boxes, etc. and used them to plant flowers. Fallen leaves, kitchen waste, etc. were used for composting.
In the past five years, the number of community gardens on the street has expanded to four. "Creating this garden not only cultivates the hands-on skills and environmental awareness of adults and children, but also enhances the communication and interaction of community residents." He Jia, a resident of Xinhua Road Street, said, "The community is more beautiful, and everyone enjoys it and is connected."
Based on local characteristics, Shanghai is building a "waste-free city" across the region, actively exploring new paradigms and new paths in opening up the "last mile" of medical waste collection and transportation, and cultivating a "waste-free culture". It has promoted the 2.0 version of waste classification to improve quality and efficiency, and has built 15,000 "two-network integration" recycling service points and 198 transfer stations. The domestic waste recycling rate has reached 45.3%.
From classified placement and CD-ROM operations to renovation of old items and neighborhood sharing, citizens’ actions gather into a powerful force for megacity governance, allowing the concepts of recycling and “no waste” to be deeply embedded in production and life.
