China spurs recycling sector to spark new economic growth

HEFEI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Nestled in east China's Anhui Province, Jieshou is a small city with a population of only 639,000. However, the city annually recycles over 4 million tonnes of waste batteries, scrap aluminum and plastic, producing 990,000 tonnes of recycled lead. Over 100 million power batteries are manufactured here every year, accounting for one fifth of the national total.

"Since the 1970s, hundreds of thousands locals have joined the waste recycling industry," said Wang Shengli, a battery recycling merchant in Jieshou.

Wang's factory now receives over ten trucks each day loaded with used batteries from Henan and Shandong. The factory extracts resources like lead, plastic, and copper from these batteries, earning an annual profit of up to two million yuan (about 280,000 U.S. dollars).

In 2023, the resource recycling industry in the Jieshou High-tech Zone achieved an industrial output value of 33 billion yuan, accounting for 74 percent of the city's total. The zone is now home to 81 resource recycling enterprises each with an annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan.

The city is an epitome of how China is actively fostering new growth opportunities through green and low-carbon development. Currently, the output value of China's resource recycling industry exceeds 3.5 trillion yuan. By 2025, it is expected to reach 5 trillion yuan.

The country's government work report this year proposed to support the development of industries for recycling waste and used materials, and encourage the R&D and application of advanced energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies.

The latest data revealed that energy consumption per unit of the country's GDP has decreased by 26.8 percent and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP have plummeted by over 35 percent.

China's new energy vehicles (NEVs) industry has seen rapid development in recent years and industry insiders predict an imminent peak in the replacement of electric vehicle batteries.

Gotion High-tech is one of the earliest Chinese manufacturers to develop power batteries for NEVs. A subsidiary of the company in Hefei developed an innovative, full lifecycle recycling system for power batteries. This system encompasses everything from battery recycling and cascaded utilization to material and battery remanufacturing, ensuring sustainable development.

China is scheduled to establish 2,000 recycling stations and 200 green sorting centers in major urban areas this year, aiming to enhance the recycling network for renewable resources, according to Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Technological innovation drives resource recycling sector's development. At a subsidiary company of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., waste slag undergoes processes such as cooling, crushing, and screening in order to facilitate its reuse.

"Through technological upgrades and renovations, 14,300 tonnes of copper metal are recycled annually, which is equivalent to the output of a medium-sized copper mine," said Wen Yan, general manager of the subsidiary company.

The recycling project ensures zero waste, with all water reused, copper concentrate returned for smelting, and tailings sold to cement plants as additives, maximizing resource efficiency.

Statistics show that as of the end of April, the National Green Technology Exchange Center has showcased over 3,600 green technologies, facilitating 1,324 transactions with a total transaction volume exceeding 3.1 billion yuan.