Four ways to manage rural solid waste

Like many areas of Asia and the Pacific, rural areas of China face significant challenges related to solid waste, or the discarded materials generated by human activities. This includes everyday items such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, batteries and myriad other items.

In rural areas, this waste often includes agricultural residue, livestock manure and organic materials. The situation has become complicated due to increasing waste generation, diverse waste composition, inadequate infrastructure and logistical difficulties posed by dispersed populations and challenging terrain.

Limited financial resources, lack of awareness, weak regulation enforcement and insufficient government support further hinder effective waste management.

Sanitary landfills and incineration are the dominant rural solid waste disposal and treatment methods used in many areas. Consequently, improper waste disposal practices lead to environmental degradation and health risks, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach that includes investments in infrastructure, improving community education, enhancing policy support and devising tailored waste management models.

Segregation of solid waste at source is an essential step toward improving rural solid waste management. To optimize segregation, rural solid waste should be classified into at least five types: food or kitchen waste, recyclable waste, hazardous waste, residues, and other general waste.

Our (Asian Development Bank's) research found that the ratio of solid waste generation to recyclable waste is directly proportional to residents' per capita disposable income. For rural solid waste management to be effective and sustainable, the management approach and technology used must be applicable to local conditions. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the problems faced by rural solid waste management.

Therefore, each village should prepare a local solid waste management plan that is tailored to and consistent with its specific needs and circumstances.

A suitable waste management technology model must be selected based on several factors — for example, waste components and their characteristics, waste segregation at source, population distribution of villages and towns, climate, geographical features, economic conditions, affordability of technology, and the needs of the agricultural sector.

Our study, focusing on rural solid waste management in selected pilot villages throughout Shanxi province, demonstrated four successful models for rural solid waste management. These involve taking the following actions:

Centralizing waste management at the county level: This model promotes waste segregation at source, unified waste collection, transportation, and centralized treatment and disposal of solid waste. Terminal facilities are built to collect, treat and supervise all rural solid waste in the county.

This model is suitable for villages and towns that have a fairly concentrated population, relatively flat terrain and easy transportation access, and are less than 50 kilometers away from the county terminal treatment plant. The terminal treatment facility should preferably be an incineration plant, which occupies less costly land in the county.

Centralizing waste management at the county and village level: The county focuses on "other waste" and "hazardous waste" for its waste segregation at source. Organic food waste and livestock feces are composted and returned to the fields locally. Inorganic materials, such as tiles and ceramics, are disposed of locally in areas of low depression.

This model is suitable for villages and towns with a relatively dispersed population, plenty of ecological farmland, convenient transportation, and that are more than 50 km away from the village and county terminal treatment plant.

Decentralizing waste management and keeping it at the town level: Based on waste segregation at source, villages and towns build scattered terminal waste treatment facilities. Except for the centralized treatment of hazardous waste at the county level, the rest of the waste is used and treated in its original location.

This model is suitable for villages and towns located in remote areas, with dispersed populations, sufficient ecological farmland, inconvenient transportation and a weak town-level economic base. And the distance between villages and towns and county terminal processing facilities is far greater than 50 km.

Managing solid waste across counties and towns: This model removes county administrative boundaries to comprehensively manage solid waste. It considers factors such as the distance between villages and towns, topography and traffic conditions, and builds on the technical foundations of the above three models.

This model suits market-oriented operations and requires special planning for regional solid waste management. As household living standards in China's rural areas progressively improve, the amount of rural solid waste rapidly increases. This highlights the importance of improving waste collection and segregation, waste transportation networks and routes, safe on-site and off-site waste disposal, and resource utilization efficiency.

These models provide guidance for other areas of China and for other developing countries across Asia and the Pacific that are facing similar problems.

Fan Mingyuan is principal water resources specialist of the Asian Development Bank's Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office, Sectors Group; and Xue Yuwei is director of the International Consulting Center, China Urban Construction Design and Research Institute. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily and the Asian Development Bank.

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