National Bureau of Statistics data shows that in the first half of 2026, above-scale enterprises in the comprehensive utilization of waste resources industry generated 570.5 billion yuan in revenue, up only 3.2% year on year, yet total profit reached 12.74 billion yuan, up 104.5% year on year, ranking second among the 41 major industrial categories by profit growth. The profit improvement did not come from expanded recycling volumes, but from price-spread repair as cost growth (about 1.9%) lagged revenue growth, combined with disposal service fees chargeable for some industrial waste.

Key Points

  • In the first half, the industry posted 570.5 billion yuan in revenue and 12.74 billion yuan in profit, with profit growth of 104.5% ranking second among the 41 major industrial categories and a profit margin of about 2.2%.
  • In August, the average price of waste yellow board paper was about 1,922.2 yuan/ton, up 23.73% year on year; scrap copper was about 90,000 yuan/ton; scrap aluminum recycling prices in some regions rose about 20%.
  • Resource recycling output value target: 8 trillion yuan by 2030, with annual utilization of major renewable resources reaching 510 million tons.

By category, the rise in waste paper prices is the most visible. Zhuochuang monitoring shows the average price of waste yellow board paper in August was about 1,922.2 yuan/ton, up 23.73% year on year, while Zhongcai put waste yellow board paper at about 1,924 yuan/ton, up 23.82% year on year, driven by paper mills restocking, weather-related disruptions to collection, and the supply-demand restructuring after domestic waste paper replaced imported waste paper. Scrap copper remains at highs, with market red copper recycling prices generally around 90 yuan/kg, equivalent to about 90,000 yuan/ton; as copper use rises in power grid construction, new energy vehicles, energy storage and data centers, and primary copper supply stays tight, demand for recycled copper from old wires, motors and home appliances becomes more prominent. Scrap aluminum has recently recovered notably, with recycling prices in some regions rising from 14 yuan/kg to 17-18 yuan/kg, a gain of about 20%, and cleanly sorted aluminum pieces more easily entering compliant smelting. Plastic bottles fluctuate with oil prices and virgin PET costs; in some regions compressed bottle bricks rose from 2,400 yuan/ton to 2,800 yuan/ton within half a month; clean material with labels and liquid removed is more welcome at recycling plants, while low-priced material mixed with oily dirt and miscellaneous plastics still needs secondary sorting to realize its value.

It should be noted that high profit growth does not equal windfall profits. Profit of 12.74 billion yuan against revenue of 570.5 billion yuan means a margin of only about 2.2%, and the industry still relies on scale, turnover and price spreads to make money; once copper, aluminum and paper prices pull back, stockpiles at small stations will face obvious inventory losses. Tianyancha Professional Edition shows there are currently more than 222,000 active and surviving enterprises related to materials recycling, with about 9,700 new ones in 2026; Guangdong, Shandong, Hebei and Jiangsu together account for more than 82,000, about 37% of the total. As the industry heats up, the focus of competition is shifting from "daring to quote" to "being able to secure steady supply"; communities, merchants, renovation teams and factory scrap are all sources, and those with finer sorting, shorter transport and clearer ledgers are better able to retain compliant spreads.

The policy framework is also tightening and becoming clearer. The Ecological Environment Code effective August 15, 2026 includes a chapter on the circular economy, specifying extended producer responsibility, promotion of recycled materials and standard certification; the Two New policies continue to support resource recycling with ultra-long special government bonds, and rules such as reverse invoicing are also being improved for the invoicing link in natural persons' recycling of end-of-life goods. At the capital and platform level, China Resource Recycling Group was established in 2024 as the country's first central state-owned enterprise focused on resource recycling, covering scrap steel, batteries, motor vehicles, plastics regeneration and other directions; GEM strategically invested in Henan Recycling Group in December 2025, with private recycling leaders and local platforms complementing each other, concentrating dismantling capacity toward whitelists and scale.

In terms of total volume, in 2025 China's recycling volume of 11 major renewable resource categories was about 417 million tons, with a recycling value of 1.39 trillion yuan, of which scrap steel accounted for more than 60% of the volume, and recycled nonferrous metal output exceeded 20 million tons. Old cars, old home appliances, old mobile phones and retired batteries are regarded as urban mines that can replenish copper, aluminum, lithium, nickel and cobalt. The 15th Five-Year Plan for circular economy development proposes that by 2030 the output value of the resource recycling industry reach 8 trillion yuan, with annual circular utilization of major renewable resources at 510 million tons - once the target is implemented, sorting centers, processing enterprises and end manufacturers will place more emphasis on stable material sources rather than temporary street-sweeping collection. For residents, flattening cardboard boxes, separating copper and aluminum wires, not selling old air conditioners cheaply as complete units, and removing liquid and labels from PET bottles can all raise recycling prices, while old mobile phones and home appliances are easier to handle through trade-in programs or whitelist dismantling.

This set of data also has reference significance for the old clothing and textile industry: as resource recycling is incorporated into the code and trillion-yuan output value targets, standardized recycling, sorting and recycled-content certification of textile waste will no longer be a marginal business, but the next channel for capturing policy resources and compliant spreads.

Source: China's most inconspicuous business suddenly boomed! First-half 2026 waste industry profit surged 104%_Tencent News · Originally published 2026-09-29