Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste (Revised in 2020)
Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste (Revised in 2020)
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste (Revised in 2020)
Order of the President of the People’s Republic of China No. 43
April 29, 2020
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste, revised and adopted at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on April 29, 2020, is hereby promulgated and shall come into effect as of September 1, 2020.
Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste
(Adopted at the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress on October 30, 1995; revised for the first time at the 13th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress on December 29, 2004; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on the Amendment to Twelve Laws Including the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics which was adopted at the Third Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress on June 29, 2013; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on the Amendment to Seven Laws Including the Port Law of the People’s Republic of China which was adopted at the 14th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress on April 24, 2015; amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision on the Amendment to Twelve Laws Including the Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China which was adopted at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress on November 7, 2016; and, revised for the second time at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress on April 29, 2020)
Table of Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Supervision and Administration
Chapter III Industrial Solid Waste
Chapter IV Household Waste
Chapter V Construction Waste and Agricultural Solid Waste, etc.
Chapter VI Hazardous Waste
Chapter VII Safeguard Measures
Chapter VIII Legal Liability
Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted in order to protect and improve the ecological environment, prevent and control environmental pollution caused by solid waste, protect the public health, maintain ecological safety, push forward ecological progress, and promote sustainable economic and social development.
Article 2 This Law shall apply to the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
This Law shall not apply to the prevention and control of marine environmental pollution caused by solid waste or of environmental pollution caused by radioactive solid waste.
Article 3 The State shall promote a green development model to push forward the cleaner production and development of the circular economy.
The State shall advocate a simple, moderate, green and low-carbon lifestyle and guide the public to actively participate in the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
Article 4 The prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste shall be handled based on the principles of reduction, recycling and harmlessness.
All entities and individuals shall take measures to reduce the output of solid waste, promote the comprehensive utilization of solid waste, and reduce the harmfulness of solid waste.
Article 5 The prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste shall be handled based on the principle that "polluters pay for the damage they cause".
Entities and individuals that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste shall take measures to prevent or reduce environmental pollution caused by solid waste, and be liable for the environmental pollution caused thereby in accordance with the law.
Article 6 The State shall implement the system of household waste sorting.
Household waste sorting shall be handled based on the principles of government promotion, public participation, urban-rural coordination, adaptation to local conditions and simplicity.
Article 7 Local people’s governments at all levels shall be responsible for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste within their respective administrative regions.
In terms of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, the State shall implement the target responsibility system and the appraisal and evaluation system, and include the status of target achievement for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste in the scope of appraisal and evaluation.
Article 8 People’s governments at all levels shall strengthen their leadership of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, organize, and coordinate and urge relevant departments to legally perform their duties of supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may negotiate to establish a mechanism for the joint prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste across administrative regions, and coordinate such work as overall planning, facility construction and solid waste transfer.
Article 9 The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council shall conduct unified supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste nationwide. The departments under the State Council in charge of development and reform, industry and information technology, natural resources, housing and urban-rural development, transport, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce, health and customs, etc. shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste to the extent of their respective duties.
The competent department of ecology and environment under each local people’s government shall conduct unified supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste within its administrative region. The departments under each local people’s government in charge of development and reform, industry and information technology, natural resources, housing and urban-rural development, transport, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce and health, etc. shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste to the extent of their respective duties.
Article 10 The State shall encourage and support scientific research, technological development, dissemination of advanced technologies and popularization of scientific knowledge concerning the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste to strengthen the scientific and technological support therefor.
Article 11 State agencies, social organizations, enterprises and public institutions, grassroots self-governing mass organizations and news media shall strengthen publicity, education, and popularization of scientific knowledge concerning the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste to increase public awareness in this regard.
Schools shall carry out popularization of and education on household waste sorting and other knowledge concerning the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
Article 12 People’s governments at all levels shall, in accordance with pertinent state regulations, give recognition and rewards to entities and individuals that have achieved outstanding successes in the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste and in relevant comprehensive utilization activities.
Chapter II Supervision and Administration
Article 13 People’s governments at or above the county level shall include the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste in the national economic and social development planning and the ecological and environmental protection planning, and take effective measures to reduce the output of solid waste, promote the comprehensive utilization of solid waste, reduce the harmfulness of solid waste and minimize the amount of solid waste put into landfills.
Article 14 The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council shall, in conjunction with relevant departments under the State Council, formulate the solid waste identification standards and identification procedures and the national technological standards for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste in accordance with the national environmental quality standards and in light of the national economic and technical conditions.
Article 15 The competent department of standardization under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the departments under the State Council in charge of development and reform, industry and information technology, ecology and the environment, agriculture and rural affairs, etc., formulate standards for comprehensive utilization of solid waste.
Comprehensive utilization of solid waste shall conform to the laws and regulations on the ecological environment and meet the technological standards for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste. Use of the products generated from comprehensive utilization of solid waste shall conform to the purposes and standards as prescribed by the State.
Article 16 The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council shall, in conjunction with relevant departments under the State Council, establish a national information platform for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by hazardous waste and other solid waste to push forward the monitoring and information traceability of the whole process of collection, transfer and treatment, etc. of solid waste. (Related article: one review)
Article 17 Whoever constructs any project which generates, stores, utilizes or treats solid waste shall carry out environmental impact assessment ("EIA") in accordance with the law and abide by pertinent state regulations on the administration of environmental protection concerning construction projects.
Article 18 The supporting facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, which need to be constructed as determined in the EIA document of a construction project, shall be designed, constructed and put into use synchronously with the main project. In terms of preliminary design of the construction project, it is a requirement to, in accordance with the requirements set forth in the specifications for environmental protection design, include the contents of prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste in the EIA document and take the measures against environmental pollution and ecological destruction caused by solid waste and work out the investment budget for the facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
Project owners shall, in accordance with pertinent laws and regulations, inspect for acceptance of the supporting facilities constructed for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, prepare an acceptance report and make it public.
Article 19 Entities and other producers and operators that collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste shall strengthen the management and maintenance of relevant facilities, equipment and sites to ensure normal operation and use thereof.
Article 20 Entities and other producers and operators that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste shall take measures to prevent the scattering, loss and leakage of solid waste, as well as other measures against environmental pollution, and shall not dump, stack up, discard or litter solid waste without authorization.
Entities and individuals are forbidden to dump, stack up or store solid waste in or at rivers, lakes, canals, channels, reservoirs or the bottomlands, banks or slopes under the highest waterline or other places as provided for by laws and regulations.
Article 21 It is forbidden to construct any facility or site for centralized storage, utilization or treatment of industrial solid waste or hazardous waste or any household waste landfill within the areas of the ecological protection red line, permanent basic farmland concentration areas and other areas requiring special protection.
Article 22 Whoever transfers any solid waste out of the administrative region of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for storage or treatment shall apply to the competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of such province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be transported out for approval. The competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be transported out shall promptly consult with that of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government to which the solid waste is to be transported and, with the latter’s consent, approve the transfer of the solid waste out of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government within the specified time limit. No transfer may be carried out without approval.
Whoever transfers any solid waste out of the administrative region of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for utilization shall report to the competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of such province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be transported out for filing. The competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be transported out shall circulate the filing information to the competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government to which the solid waste is to be transported.
Article 23 It is forbidden to, within the territory of the People’s Republic of China, dump, stack up or treat any solid waste generated abroad.
Article 24 The State shall gradually realize zero importation of solid waste, which shall be organized for implementation by the competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council in conjunction with the departments under the State Council in charge of commerce, development and reform, and customs, etc.
Article 25 Upon becoming aware that any imported goods are suspected of solid waste, the Customs may appoint a professional agency to carry out attribute identification and legally deal with it based on the identification conclusion.
Article 26 Competent departments of ecology and environment and their environmental law enforcement agencies as well as other departments in charge of the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste shall, to the extent of their respective duties, have the right to carry out field inspections of the entities and other producers and operators that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste. Whoever is under inspection shall faithfully state facts and provide necessary materials.
For field inspections, such measures as field monitoring, sample collection, access or copying of the materials concerning the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste may be taken. Inspectors carrying out field inspections shall produce their certificates and keep confidential all trade secrets learned during field inspections.
Article 27 Under either of the following circumstances, competent departments of ecology and environment and other departments in charge of the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste may seal up or seize solid waste which is illegally collected, stored, transported, utilized and treated, and relevant facilities, equipment, sites, tools and items:
1. any act which may cause any evidence to be lost, concealed or illegally transferred; or
2. any act which has caused or may cause serious environmental pollution.
Article 28 Competent departments of ecology and environment shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, establish a credit record system for the entities and other producers and operators that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste, and include relevant credit records in the national credit information sharing platform.
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Order of the President of the People’s Republic of China No. 43
April 29, 2020
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste, revised and adopted at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on April 29, 2020, is hereby promulgated and shall come into effect as of September 1, 2020.
Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste
(Adopted at the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress on October 30, 1995; revised for the first time at the 13th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress on December 29, 2004; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on the Amendment to Twelve Laws Including the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics which was adopted at the Third Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress on June 29, 2013; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on the Amendment to Seven Laws Including the Port Law of the People’s Republic of China which was adopted at the 14th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress on April 24, 2015; amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision on the Amendment to Twelve Laws Including the Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China which was adopted at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress on November 7, 2016; and, revised for the second time at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress on April 29, 2020)
Table of Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Supervision and Administration
Chapter III Industrial Solid Waste
Chapter IV Household Waste
Chapter V Construction Waste and Agricultural Solid Waste, etc.
Chapter VI Hazardous Waste
Chapter VII Safeguard Measures
Chapter VIII Legal Liability
Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted in order to protect and improve the ecological environment, prevent and control environmental pollution caused by solid waste, protect the public health, maintain ecological safety, push forward ecological progress, and promote sustainable economic and social development.
Article 2 This Law shall apply to the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
This Law shall not apply to the prevention and control of marine environmental pollution caused by solid waste or of environmental pollution caused by radioactive solid waste.
Article 3 The State shall promote a green development model to push forward the cleaner production and development of the circular economy.
The State shall advocate a simple, moderate, green and low-carbon lifestyle and guide the public to actively participate in the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
Article 4 The prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste shall be handled based on the principles of reduction, recycling and harmlessness.
All entities and individuals shall take measures to reduce the output of solid waste, promote the comprehensive utilization of solid waste, and reduce the harmfulness of solid waste.
Article 5 The prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste shall be handled based on the principle that "polluters pay for the damage they cause".
Entities and individuals that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste shall take measures to prevent or reduce environmental pollution caused by solid waste, and be liable for the environmental pollution caused thereby in accordance with the law.
Article 6 The State shall implement the system of household waste sorting.
Household waste sorting shall be handled based on the principles of government promotion, public participation, urban-rural coordination, adaptation to local conditions and simplicity.
Article 7 Local people’s governments at all levels shall be responsible for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste within their respective administrative regions.
In terms of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, the State shall implement the target responsibility system and the appraisal and evaluation system, and include the status of target achievement for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste in the scope of appraisal and evaluation.
Article 8 People’s governments at all levels shall strengthen their leadership of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, organize, and coordinate and urge relevant departments to legally perform their duties of supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may negotiate to establish a mechanism for the joint prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste across administrative regions, and coordinate such work as overall planning, facility construction and solid waste transfer.
Article 9 The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council shall conduct unified supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste nationwide. The departments under the State Council in charge of development and reform, industry and information technology, natural resources, housing and urban-rural development, transport, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce, health and customs, etc. shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste to the extent of their respective duties.
The competent department of ecology and environment under each local people’s government shall conduct unified supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste within its administrative region. The departments under each local people’s government in charge of development and reform, industry and information technology, natural resources, housing and urban-rural development, transport, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce and health, etc. shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste to the extent of their respective duties.
Article 10 The State shall encourage and support scientific research, technological development, dissemination of advanced technologies and popularization of scientific knowledge concerning the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste to strengthen the scientific and technological support therefor.
Article 11 State agencies, social organizations, enterprises and public institutions, grassroots self-governing mass organizations and news media shall strengthen publicity, education, and popularization of scientific knowledge concerning the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste to increase public awareness in this regard.
Schools shall carry out popularization of and education on household waste sorting and other knowledge concerning the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
Article 12 People’s governments at all levels shall, in accordance with pertinent state regulations, give recognition and rewards to entities and individuals that have achieved outstanding successes in the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste and in relevant comprehensive utilization activities.
Chapter II Supervision and Administration
Article 13 People’s governments at or above the county level shall include the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste in the national economic and social development planning and the ecological and environmental protection planning, and take effective measures to reduce the output of solid waste, promote the comprehensive utilization of solid waste, reduce the harmfulness of solid waste and minimize the amount of solid waste put into landfills.
Article 14 The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council shall, in conjunction with relevant departments under the State Council, formulate the solid waste identification standards and identification procedures and the national technological standards for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste in accordance with the national environmental quality standards and in light of the national economic and technical conditions.
Article 15 The competent department of standardization under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the departments under the State Council in charge of development and reform, industry and information technology, ecology and the environment, agriculture and rural affairs, etc., formulate standards for comprehensive utilization of solid waste.
Comprehensive utilization of solid waste shall conform to the laws and regulations on the ecological environment and meet the technological standards for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste. Use of the products generated from comprehensive utilization of solid waste shall conform to the purposes and standards as prescribed by the State.
Article 16 The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council shall, in conjunction with relevant departments under the State Council, establish a national information platform for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by hazardous waste and other solid waste to push forward the monitoring and information traceability of the whole process of collection, transfer and treatment, etc. of solid waste. (Related article: one review)
Article 17 Whoever constructs any project which generates, stores, utilizes or treats solid waste shall carry out environmental impact assessment ("EIA") in accordance with the law and abide by pertinent state regulations on the administration of environmental protection concerning construction projects.
Article 18 The supporting facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, which need to be constructed as determined in the EIA document of a construction project, shall be designed, constructed and put into use synchronously with the main project. In terms of preliminary design of the construction project, it is a requirement to, in accordance with the requirements set forth in the specifications for environmental protection design, include the contents of prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste in the EIA document and take the measures against environmental pollution and ecological destruction caused by solid waste and work out the investment budget for the facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste.
Project owners shall, in accordance with pertinent laws and regulations, inspect for acceptance of the supporting facilities constructed for the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, prepare an acceptance report and make it public.
Article 19 Entities and other producers and operators that collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste shall strengthen the management and maintenance of relevant facilities, equipment and sites to ensure normal operation and use thereof.
Article 20 Entities and other producers and operators that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste shall take measures to prevent the scattering, loss and leakage of solid waste, as well as other measures against environmental pollution, and shall not dump, stack up, discard or litter solid waste without authorization.
Entities and individuals are forbidden to dump, stack up or store solid waste in or at rivers, lakes, canals, channels, reservoirs or the bottomlands, banks or slopes under the highest waterline or other places as provided for by laws and regulations.
Article 21 It is forbidden to construct any facility or site for centralized storage, utilization or treatment of industrial solid waste or hazardous waste or any household waste landfill within the areas of the ecological protection red line, permanent basic farmland concentration areas and other areas requiring special protection.
Article 22 Whoever transfers any solid waste out of the administrative region of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for storage or treatment shall apply to the competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of such province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be transported out for approval. The competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be transported out shall promptly consult with that of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government to which the solid waste is to be transported and, with the latter’s consent, approve the transfer of the solid waste out of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government within the specified time limit. No transfer may be carried out without approval.
Whoever transfers any solid waste out of the administrative region of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for utilization shall report to the competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of such province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be transported out for filing. The competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be transported out shall circulate the filing information to the competent department of ecology and environment under the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government to which the solid waste is to be transported.
Article 23 It is forbidden to, within the territory of the People’s Republic of China, dump, stack up or treat any solid waste generated abroad.
Article 24 The State shall gradually realize zero importation of solid waste, which shall be organized for implementation by the competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council in conjunction with the departments under the State Council in charge of commerce, development and reform, and customs, etc.
Article 25 Upon becoming aware that any imported goods are suspected of solid waste, the Customs may appoint a professional agency to carry out attribute identification and legally deal with it based on the identification conclusion.
Article 26 Competent departments of ecology and environment and their environmental law enforcement agencies as well as other departments in charge of the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste shall, to the extent of their respective duties, have the right to carry out field inspections of the entities and other producers and operators that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste. Whoever is under inspection shall faithfully state facts and provide necessary materials.
For field inspections, such measures as field monitoring, sample collection, access or copying of the materials concerning the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste may be taken. Inspectors carrying out field inspections shall produce their certificates and keep confidential all trade secrets learned during field inspections.
Article 27 Under either of the following circumstances, competent departments of ecology and environment and other departments in charge of the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste may seal up or seize solid waste which is illegally collected, stored, transported, utilized and treated, and relevant facilities, equipment, sites, tools and items:
1. any act which may cause any evidence to be lost, concealed or illegally transferred; or
2. any act which has caused or may cause serious environmental pollution.
Article 28 Competent departments of ecology and environment shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, establish a credit record system for the entities and other producers and operators that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize and treat solid waste, and include relevant credit records in the national credit information sharing platform.
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