Recently I read in the news that incineration plants in many places are “not full” and there is “not enough garbage to burn”. Is it still necessary to sort it? There are also some places where the garbage "cannot be piled up". How to solve this contradiction?
——People's Daily Online netizen
Netizens’ questions reflect the public’s concern about garbage disposal and garbage classification. The implementation of garbage classification is related to the living environment of the broad masses of the people and the conservation and utilization of resources.
The huge demand for garbage disposal has given rise to enterprises related to solid waste disposal and resource utilization. my country's domestic waste terminal processing capacity has been greatly improved, and the level of waste reduction and utilization continues to improve. In some areas, the load rate of incineration plants is low and raw materials are insufficient. Old garbage is excavated and mixed with incineration, and even "garbage grabbing" occurs across regions, giving people the illusion of "garbage shortage."
First of all, we need to clarify: Is garbage really “not enough to burn”?
Overall, the garbage is not “burnable enough”. In recent years, the amount of domestic waste generated has increased steadily, and the pressure of "garbage siege" has not been fundamentally eliminated. But in some places, there is indeed a situation where incineration plants are “not full”.
Data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development show that there are 1,137 domestic waste incineration plants across the country, processing an average of 1.158 million tons of domestic waste per day, and the average load rate is 88.7%. Industry experts said that the load is within a reasonable range, and "not enough to burn" is not a lack of total garbage, but a structural imbalance and regional mismatch between garbage processing capacity and generation.
In terms of regional distribution, waste incineration plants are densely distributed in the southeastern coastal provinces, while some provinces in other regions are relatively sparse. The imbalance between urban and rural areas is also a prominent problem. In some cities, garbage classification is fully covered, but the incineration plants are "not enough"; in some rural areas of underdeveloped areas, garbage is still piled up randomly and burned in the open air.
In the past few years, incineration production capacity in some areas was deployed ahead of schedule and over-concentrated. As garbage classification advances, source reduction takes effect, and incineration treatment technology continues to advance, some areas have excess incineration treatment capacity. Since the income of incineration plants is linked to the amount of garbage processed, it is not difficult to understand the phenomenon of "garbage grabbing".
Why must we unswervingly promote garbage classification?
my country's waste management has always adhered to the principles of reduction, resource utilization, and harmlessness. Incineration and power generation are only a cover for terminal harmless disposal.
The purpose of building a waste incineration plant is to solve the problem of large landfills and heavy pollution, and to achieve waste volume reduction and energy recovery. It is not to deliberately manufacture waste as "raw materials". If we relax the reduction and abandon the classification in order to meet the incineration capacity, it is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.
From an economic perspective, waste consumes land, energy, manpower and other resources throughout the entire process from generation to disposal. The costs of classification, collection, transfer, and disposal are far beyond what the revenue from power generation can cover. From the perspective of pollution emissions, the more garbage the waste incineration plant processes, the greater the total amount of pollutants emitted.
On the other hand, the ecological value and economic value of source reduction and classification recycling are much higher than those sent to incinerators. Classified recycling is also conducive to the efficient and stable operation of incineration plants. Mixed garbage is sent directly to the incinerator, and the kitchen waste in it will cause high moisture content and insufficient combustion, which will reduce power generation efficiency and increase fuel consumption. Therefore, source reduction and waste classification are must-answer questions.
How to solve the problem of "not having enough to eat" and "not being able to pile up"? The most fundamental thing is to get out of the mindset of end-of-line processing and return to the track of full-chain management.
At the source, we will unswervingly promote waste reduction and classification recycling, strictly control excessive packaging of goods, and limit the abuse of disposable items. In terms of planning, the layout of incineration treatment facilities should be coordinated and optimized to connect idle urban incineration capacity with rural waste disposal needs. In terms of industry, we should move away from the model of simply incineration of waste to generate electricity and turn to the comprehensive development of "urban minerals" to expand multiple benefits such as waste treatment fees, renewable resource recycling, and carbon emission reduction.
In the process of industrial development, there will always be "growing pains", which are usually also opportunities. Replace end-to-end recycling with full-chain recycling, follow the road of resource-based and circular diversified operations, resolve the contradiction between "not enough burning" and "not enough piles" of garbage through continuous innovation, promote high-quality development of the waste treatment industry, and help build a beautiful China with steady progress.
Our reporter Kou Jiangze
