Xi'an promotes its development as zero-waste city

Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, has rolled out implementation plans for the construction of a zero-waste city during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

That's according to city officials speaking at a news conference held by the municipal government on June 14.

Zero-waste is a concept that aims to realize the production of minimum levels of solid waste, full resource utilization, the bio-safety disposal of waste and a low environmental impact, by promoting green development and green lifestyles.

The plan details how Xi'an will promote solid waste source reduction, resource utilization and eco-friendly disposal, focusing on general industrial solid waste, agricultural waste, domestic waste, construction waste and hazardous waste.

It projects that, by 2025, more than 60 national and provincial green factories will be created, with the proportion of enterprises that have carried out green factory construction reaching an estimated 3.62 percent.

Furthermore, the comprehensive utilization level of major agricultural solid waste will be increased in order to develop green agriculture.

By 2025, the number of certified green food and organic agricultural products is projected to be no less than 22.

The city will also improve its collection and transfer facilities to improve the efficiency of domestic waste recycling, aiming to achieve 100 percent coverage of domestic waste sorting in residential quarters by 2025.

Meanwhile, the construction of green buildings will be ramped up. By 2025, the proportion of green building area in the city's new urban buildings is forecast to reach 100 percent, with more than 600,000 square meters of ultra-low energy consumption building areas built.