In a significant move for China's sustainable development, China Resource Recycling Group Co., Ltd. was recently established with a substantial registered capital of 10 billion yuan. The company's shareholders comprise major state-owned enterprises such as Sinopec and China Baowu Steel Group. Sinopec will take on waste plastic recycling, while China Resources Group will focus on used textiles.
In a significant move for China's sustainable development, China Resource Recycling Group Co., Ltd. was recently established with a substantial registered capital of 10 billion yuan. The company's shareholders comprise major state-owned enterprises such as Sinopec and China Baowu Steel Group. Sinopec will take on waste plastic recycling, while China Resources Group will focus on used textiles. China Baowu may integrate its scrap steel business into the new entity. Future plans also include expanding to cover scrapped vehicles, home appliances, electronic products, and retired wind and solar equipment.
Zhao Chenxin, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has stated that efforts will be made to enhance recycling logistics systems and networks for old product recovery. The NDRC aims to support businesses in building reverse logistics systems to efficiently utilize retired wind power components and batteries while also optimizing second-hand vehicle registration management.
Developing a circular economy is a crucial strategy for China's socio-economic growth. According to the "14th Five-Year Plan" goals, by 2025, a resource-circulating industrial system should be established with an output value reaching 5 trillion yuan.
Data from CCID Consulting shows that in 2023, China's resource recycling industry reached approximately 4 trillion yuan, registering a year-on-year increase of 13.1%. To achieve the "5 trillion" target requires maintaining double-digit annual growth.
The newly formed national team is set to create a nationwide platform for resource recovery and reuse, covering various aspects such as offline collection networks and consumer goods exchange programs.
Liu Yu, Chairman of China Resource Recycling Group Co., emphasizes that effective recovery can unlock vast resources hidden in discarded products, akin to opening a "second mine." He also stresses the need for innovation over traditional low-level operations to enhance value-added processes within the recycling industry chain.
This year has witnessed top-level planning with guidelines aimed at establishing an efficient waste recycling system. Provinces like Sichuan and Jiangsu are actively promoting their own initiatives.
As of September this year, around 150,000 collection points have been set up nationwide, along with about 1,800 sorting centers, addressing previous coverage inadequacies.
The establishment of China Resource Recycling Group is expected to foster deep processing clusters within circular economy sectors and significantly improve overall economic circulation quality through comprehensive waste collection strategies.
In recent years, industries related to new energy sources such as electric vehicles have gained momentum. However, they also face increasing pressure regarding material recovery post-use due to rising production scales. According to policies initiated since 2016 concerning electric vehicle battery warranties expiring by 2024, leading to increased retirement rates. Lithium battery recoveries are projected at over one hundred thousand tons annually by then, five times more than current levels. The market potential is expected to exceed one hundred billion yuan by 2030 at an average annual growth rate of 26%.
With ongoing expansion in electric vehicle production capacity resulting in growing numbers of retired batteries anticipated until around mid-2025, high recovery rates are being achieved particularly among key materials like nickel (99.6%) and lithium (91%). As three-element batteries surpass iron phosphate types as primary targets for reclamation starting this year, the market's potential continues to accelerate rapidly.
On October 22, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held its regular monthly press conference. At the event, Guo Yijun, Director of the Solid Waste and Chemical Management Department, revealed that China still generates approximately 2 billion tons of typical bulk industrial solid waste annually that lacks comprehensive utilization. In comparison to the massive generation and historical stockpiles, the amount of this waste that is utilized in industrial products is limited. Relying solely on converting this waste into products is not sufficient, and there is an urgent need to explore large-scale comprehensive utilization.
Looking ahead, the ministry will guide localities to focus on preventing environmental risks while seeking nature-based solutions. They will actively explore disposal channels such as underground filling, ecological restoration, and roadbed construction to safely promote the standardized use of typical bulk industrial solid waste. The aim is to reintegrate these wastes into Earth's cycle with minimal pollution and environmental risks.