Treatment of Municipal Solid Wastes: Foreign Experience and China’s Reference and Associated Policies

Municipal solid wastes (MSW) have become an important factor constraining China's economic, social and environmental development and affect the lives and health of residents nowadays, too. Therefore, how to effectively deal with the growing MSW has become an important issue in China. This study shows that the main reasons leading to the dilemma of Chinese waste management are the unfair administrative way of solid waste management, the lack of economic incentives and the unfair recycling use and management. To solve these problems, it is necessary to learn the experience from successful countries in waste management and to take policy measures from market-oriented operation, charging system, producer responsibility, recycling scheme and so forth. At the same time, it is necessary actively to create conditions to bring government, residents and businesses together to realize the industrialization of China’s MSW disposal and virtuous circle.