The Zhejiang provincial government recently announced that all prefecture-level cities and half of all counties and county-level cities in the province will become "waste-free cities" by the end of 2023.

These places are expected to see no increase in waste generation, make efficient use of natural resources, and achieve full supervision over emissions of solid waste, wastewater, and exhaust gas.

Zhejiang is the first province in China to try to develop "waste-free cities" across the entire province. The Zhejiang provincial government published a work program for achieving this goal in January, setting out specific tasks to improve the production and disposal of waste, relevant technologies and institutions, and government and market regulations. Relevant management procedures and evaluation indicators were also specified in the document.

According to an official from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Ecology and the Environment, several places throughout the province have already set good examples for other Zhejiang cities to follow in order to develop into "waste-free cities".

Shaoxing was among the 11 Chinese cities designated by the State Council to pilot the "waste-free cities" program last April, and Shaoxing's Shangyu district has been promoting the unified recycling and disposal of pesticide packages in order to ensure a recycling and disposal rate of 100 percent.

In addition, Yongkang, a county-level city administered by Jinhua, is implementing a five-step procedure to treat industrial solid waste that includes accurate classification of waste according to its source, specialized secondary separation, smart cleaning and transporting, maximum utilization, and unified treatment.