by Xinhua Writer Jiang Tingting

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- In a waste incineration plant in Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province, towering steel claws move gracefully, transferring mountains of municipal waste into the fermentation chamber.

Once sufficiently broken down, the waste is fed into the incinerator, where the intense heat transforms water into steam to power turbines to generate electricity.

"The facility converts 1,800 tonnes of waste daily into electricity and serves as an energy hub for the city," said Wang Limin, in charge of the facility.

This waste-to-energy facility stands among many advanced waste-to-energy plants across China that convert garbage into energy through advanced technology, providing clean electricity to households and reducing carbon emissions.

In the past, China used landfills as a primary method for garbage disposal, which posed risks to land, groundwater and air quality. Fueled by an intensifying environmental consciousness, China has transformed its waste management paradigm over the past two decades by promoting cleaner and more efficient waste incineration technology.

Today, over 1,000 large-scale incineration plants operate across China, processing more than 1.1 million tonnes of waste daily -- equivalent to filling 440 standard Olympic-sized swimming pools (each holding 2,500 tonnes of water).

Technological maturation has been equally striking. Breakthroughs in combustion control systems, flue gas treatment solutions, and real-time emissions monitoring have propelled China to a global leadership position.

China's national emission standards for waste-to-energy plants align with the latest EU benchmarks, positioning them among the world's most stringent. Some regions, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, have implemented even stricter local regulations that surpass EU thresholds.

"By adopting domestically engineered grate-furnace technology with proprietary intellectual rights, we've achieved 40 percent greater thermal efficiency than a decade ago," said Ma Kejun, deputy general manager of a waste-to-energy plant in the Xixian New Area of Shaanxi Province.

"At nearly 1,000 degrees Celsius, the waste is fully combusted, and our monitoring reports show dioxin emissions are only one-tenth of the EU limit," he added.

This technical prowess now fuels international expansion. By May 2025, Chinese companies had participated in or secured contracts for 79 overseas waste incineration projects spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, South America and North America.

"China's waste-incineration industry has evolved from 'harmless disposal' to 'high-efficiency resource utilization'," said Xie Yuhong, vice chairman and secretary-general of the All-China Environment Federation, urging international collaboration to tackle global waste crises.

The increasing sophistication of incineration technology doesn't mean free rein to create waste.

"Incineration is an end-of-pipe fix -- its financial and ecological costs dwarfing source reduction," said environmental advocate Zhang Jingning.

Ma Wenchao, a professor from Tianjin University's School of Environmental Science and Engineering, notes that the rapid growth of e-commerce, food delivery, and courier services has led to a surge in single-use plastic packaging waste.

Since plastic production relies on fossil fuels, its entire lifecycle -- from manufacturing to incineration -- generates massive carbon emissions that accelerate climate change. "In the end, this harms not only ourselves but also future generations," Ma said, urging stronger efforts to cut waste at the source and improve waste sorting.

Globally, the 3R's approach -- Reduce (using fewer products), Reuse (extending product life), and Recycle (recovering materials for new production) -- guides sustainable waste management. China enshrined this same principle in the Circular Economy Promotion Law in 2008, becoming the world's third nation to enact dedicated circular economy legislation.

By doubling down on the 3Rs, China can reduce waste at its source and enhance waste-sorting systems to accelerate its progress toward a circular economy, according to experts.