Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has successively issued ‘The Classification and Codes Catalogue of Solid Waste’ and ‘The Guidelines for Publishing Information on the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution to the Environment’.

The issuance of the ‘Catalogue’ marks the first time that China has detailed the types of solid waste and unified their codes. Based on the framework of ‘five major categories and three-level classification’, the ‘Catalogue’ divides solid waste into five major categories: industrial solid waste, domestic garbage, construction waste, agricultural solid waste, and other solid waste, which are further subdivided into 35 categories and over 200 types, basically achieving full coverage of solid waste types and laying a foundation for strengthening solid waste environmental management in the future.

The ‘Guidelines’ aims to guide local governments in lawfully carrying out the publication of information on the prevention and control of solid waste pollution to the environment, raises public awareness of solid waste pollution prevention and control work, and enhances public participation capabilities. The ‘Guidelines’ clarifies the requirements for the period, time, and form of information publication, as well as the specific content of information publication for major types of solid waste, which will facilitate local governments in better performing the task of publishing information on the prevention and control of solid waste pollution to the environment.

The issuance and implementation of the ‘Catalogue’ and the ‘Guidelines’ are specific measures to implement the relevant institutional provisions of ‘The Law of the People′s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste’. They will help promote the standardization, refinement, and digitization of solid waste environmental management, and enhance the overall management level of solid waste.