Abstract With economic development,

Abstract With economic development, the quantity of solid
waste is increasing rapidly in China; the total quantities of
municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial solid waste (ISW),
and hazardous waste (HW) in 2002 were 136.5 million tons,
945 million tons, and 10 million tons, respectively. In 2002,
the quantity of MSW disposed of was 74.04 million tons,
89.30% of which was landfilled, 3.72% was incinerated, and
6.98% was composted. There are currently 651 disposal
facilities for MSW in China. Mining gangue is the largest
component of ISW, making up 27.5% of the total. In the
Chinese industrial sector, the coal mining and processing
industry contributed most to the total quantity of ISW, with
16.0% of the total quantity of ISW generated by this sector.
In total, 44% of HW was recycled, 27% was stored, 13.5%
was disposed of, and 15.4% was discharged. Of the total HW
generated, 40% was produced by the chemical materials
and chemical products industry. Five categories of HW, i.e.,
waste alkali, waste acid, inorganic fluoride waste, copper
waste, and inorganic cyanide waste, made up 57.8% of the
total HW generated. Solid waste pollution has become a
huge challenge faced by those involved in Chinese environmental
management, but this can be seen as an
opportunity to improve environmental quality. This article
introduces the strategies taken to improve solid waste management
in China.