China targets 76% household waste recycling rate by 2030

China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced on Monday (25 May) that the country aims to raise urban household waste recycling rates to over 76% by the end of 2030. The announcement coincided with the launch of the fourth National Urban Household Waste Sorting Awareness Week, running from 25 to 31 May, and a national conference on urban waste sorting held in Beijing.

The ministry will continue advancing waste sorting, reduction, resource utilisation, and safe disposal this year, while refining policy frameworks, strengthening recyclable material management, and improving recovery rates to support high-quality urban development and the ‘Beautiful China’ initiative, a ministry official stated.

Over the past decade, the ministry has promoted sustainable progress in waste sorting through pilot programmes and model demonstrations. Waste sorting now covers nearly all residential communities in 297 prefecture-level cities and above, which have collectively enacted 199 local regulations on waste sorting and issued over 100 technical standards.

Latest ministry data shows China has 1,137 waste incineration facilities nationwide as of end-2025, with a combined daily processing capacity of 1.18 million tonnes. Fifteen provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Zhejiang, and Shandong, have achieved zero raw household waste disposal at landfills, with primary pollutant emissions controlled among the strictest globally.