The Xi'an Municipal People's Government issued the "Implementation Plan for the Construction of Xi'an's Waste Materials Recycling System" in September, making systematic arrangements around three main directions: improving the collection network, enhancing processing and utilization levels, and promoting second-hand goods trading and remanufacturing. The plan was formulated in accordance with the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of the Waste Materials Recycling System" (Fa Gai Huan Zi [2022] No. 109) issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments, as well as relevant notices on the list of key cities, with the goal of building Xi'an into a national key city for the waste materials recycling system.

In terms of the collection network, the plan proposes that, based on the principles of convenience and efficiency, temporary storage points for recyclables from domestic waste sorting and renewable resource collection service points should be laid out in a coordinated manner, promoting standardized and market-oriented operation of these points, with the number of standardized collection points reaching 1,730 by 2025. Notably, the plan clearly promotes the reasonable establishment of dedicated waste textile recycling facilities and breaks down barriers to bringing recycling facilities into communities, shopping malls, and campuses; at the same time, it encourages the deployment of smart recycling facilities, guides residents to sort and dispose of waste through methods such as points-based cashback, and promotes a combined model of "mobile + fixed" and "scheduled fixed-point + door-to-door appointment."

At the sorting stage, new and upgraded green sorting centers are required, promoting automated and refined sorting, and encouraging low-value recyclables such as waste plastics, waste textiles, waste paper, and waste glass to enter specialized sorting centers to achieve professional collection, transportation, and resource utilization. The plan also proposes implementing the extended producer responsibility system, encouraging manufacturers to recycle products through their sales and after-sales systems, and by 2025 the coverage rate of recycling devices for recyclable express packaging at collection points should reach 95%, with the use of recyclable express packaging boxes (cases) exceeding 100,000. In terms of informatization, enterprises are encouraged to build online recycling platforms through mobile apps and WeChat mini-programs, and support is given to map apps such as Amap and Baidu Maps to improve information on the operating status and accepted recycling categories of collection points.

In the field of second-hand goods trading, the plan encourages the "Internet + second-hand" model and guides professional operators to join platforms such as Xianyu and Zhuanzhuan; it supports qualified districts and counties in building second-hand goods trading markets and trading zones for electrical and electronic products, clothing, furniture, and more, and improves appraisal, evaluation, and grading standards while advancing the "three guarantees" and after-sales service system. The plan also proposes cultivating the remanufacturing industry, with key research and development focused on key technologies and basic materials for remanufacturing optical-mechatronic integrated equipment, aircraft engines, and more.

In the processing and utilization stage, Xi'an plans to moderately cluster renewable resource processing industries around five waste-to-energy plants in areas such as Xixian New Area and Lantian, with the processing and utilization rate of major renewable resources reaching over 80% by 2025 and the number of backbone enterprises in renewable resource processing and utilization reaching 5, while leveraging Tongchuan's land advantages to promote cross-regional coordinated disposal. In terms of policy support, fiscal and tax support includes raising subsidy standards for the construction of standardized collection points and green sorting centers, implementing subsidies for the use of renewable resource products, and increasing government green procurement.

For the old clothing and textile recycling industry, Xi'an's plan, for the first time in a municipal-level recycling system construction plan, lists dedicated waste textile recycling facilities, specialized sorting of low-value recyclables, and dedicated second-hand clothing trading zones as explicit tasks, accompanied by point-setting quantity targets and subsidy mechanisms. This means that local governments are extending textile recycling from end-of-pipe sorting to trading, circulation, and remanufacturing, which may open a policy window for related recycling enterprises and second-hand clothing operators to set up community locations and operate in a standardized manner.

Source: 1,730 standardized collection points to be reached by 2025! "Implementation Plan for the Construction of Xi'an's Waste Materials Recycling System" issued · Originally published on 2023-09-28