Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environment Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes (2020 Revision)

Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environment Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes (2020 Revision) Order of the President of the People's Republic of China (No. 43) The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environment Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes, as revised and adopted at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 29, 2020, is hereby issued and shall come into force on September 1, 2020. President of the People's Republic of China: Xi Jinping April 29, 2020 Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environment Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes (Adopted at the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on October 30, 1995; revised for the first time at the 13th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on December 29, 2004; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision to Amend 12 Laws Including the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China at the 3rd Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on June 29, 2013; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision to Amend Seven Laws Including the Law of the People's Republic of China on Ports at the 14th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on April 24, 2015; amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision to Amend Twelve Laws Including the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on November 7, 2016; and revised for the second time at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on April 29, 2020) Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Supervision and Administration Chapter III Industrial Solid Wastes Chapter IV Consumer Wastes Chapter V Construction Wastes, Agricultural Solid Wastes, etc. Chapter VI Hazardous Wastes Chapter VII Guarantee Measures Chapter VIII Legal Liability Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purposes of protecting and improving the ecology and environment, preventing and controlling environmental pollution by solid wastes, safeguarding public health, maintaining ecological safety, advancing the construction of ecological civilization, and promoting the sustainable development of economy and society. Article 2 This Law applies to the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes. This Law shall not be applicable to the prevention and control of marine environmental pollution by solid wastes or of environmental pollution by radioactive solid wastes. Article 3 The state shall promote green development methods and facilitate the development of cleaner production and circular economy. The state shall advocate a simple, moderate, green and low-carbon lifestyle and guide the public in actively participating in the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes. Article 4 The prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes shall be in adherence to the principles of reduction, recycling and harmlessness. Any entity or individual shall take measures to reduce solid waste production, promote the comprehensive utilization of solid wastes, and diminish the harmfulness of solid wastes. Article 5 The prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes shall be in adherence to the principle of liability for pollution. Any entity or individual that produces, collects, stores, transports, utilizes, or treats solid wastes shall take measures to prevent or reduce environmental pollution caused by solid wastes, and be liable for resultant environmental pollution in accordance with the law. Article 6 The state shall implement a consumer waste sorting system. Consumer waste sorting shall be in adherence to the principles of government promotion, public participation, urban and rural coordination, suiting measures to local conditions, and simplicity. Article 7 Local people's governments at all levels shall be responsible for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes in their respective administrative areas. The state shall implement a target responsibility system and evaluation and assessment system for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes and incorporate the achievement in the target for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes into the content of evaluation and assessment. Article 8 People's governments at all levels shall strengthen their leadership in the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes and organize, coordinate, and urge the relevant departments' performance of their duties of supervision and administration of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes according to the law. Provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may negotiate for the establishment of an inter-administrative area joint prevention and control mechanism for environmental pollution by solid wastes to coordinate plan development, facility construction, and transfer of solid wastes. Article 9 The ecology and environment department of the State Council shall exercise unified supervision and administration of the nationwide prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes. The development and reform, industry and information technology, natural resources, housing and urban-rural development, transport, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce, health, customs, and other departments of the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes within their respective duties. The ecology and environment departments of local people's governments shall exercise unified supervision and administration of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes in their respective administration areas. The development and reform, industry and information technology, natural resources, housing and urban-rural development, transport, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce, health, and other departments of local people's governments shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes within their respective duties. Article 10 The state shall encourage and support scientific research, technological development, advanced technology promotion and science dissemination in relation to the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes and strengthen scientific and technological support for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes. Article 11 State agencies, social organizations, enterprises and public institutions, basic mass self-governing organizations, and the news media shall strengthen publicity, education, and science dissemination with regard to the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes and heighten public awareness of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes. Schools shall disseminate knowledge and give education about consumer waste sorting and the prevention and control of environmental pollution by other solid wastes. Article 12 People's governments at all levels shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions issued by the state, commend and reward entities and individuals that have made outstanding achievements in the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes and related comprehensive utilization activities. Chapter II Supervision and Administration Article 13 People's governments at or above the county level shall incorporate the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes into their national economic and social development plans and ecological and environmental protection plans, take effective measures to reduce solid waste production, promote the comprehensive utilization of solid wastes, and reduce the harmfulness of solid wastes, and minimize the amount of solid waste landfill. Article 14 The ecology and environment department of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council, formulate solid waste identification standards and procedures and national technical standards for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes in accordance with national environmental quality standards and national economic and technical conditions. Article 15 The standardization department of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the development and reform, industry and information technology, ecology and environment, agriculture and rural affairs, and other departments of the State Council, formulate standards for the comprehensive utilization of solid wastes. The comprehensive utilization of solid wastes shall conform to the laws and regulations on the ecology and environment and to technical standards for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes. The use of the product of comprehensive utilization of solid wastes shall conform to the purposes and standards prescribed by the state. Article 16 The ecology and environment department of the State Council shall establish a national information platform for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by hazardous wastes and other solid wastes in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council and advance monitoring and information technology-based tracing throughout the collection, transfer, and treatment of solid wastes, among others. Article 17 The construction of projects that produce, store, use, and treat solid wastes shall be performed with environmental impact assessment conducted as legally required and in compliance with the relevant provisions issued by the state concerning the management of environmental protection in respect of construction projects. Article 18 The facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes required to be built as ancillaries determined in the environmental impact assessment document of a construction project shall be designed, built and put into operation at the same time as the main part of the project. The preliminary design of the construction project shall, as required by the environmental protection design standards, incorporate the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes into the environmental impact assessment document and implement the measures for the prevention and control of environmental pollution and ecological damage by solid wastes and the investment estimates for facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes. The construction employer shall, as required by the relevant laws and regulations, conduct acceptance inspection of the facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes built as ancillaries, prepare an acceptance inspection report, and disclose it to the public. Article 19 An entity or any other producer or trader that collects, stores, transports, utilizes, or treats solid waste shall strengthen the management and maintenance of relevant facilities, equipment, and sites to ensure their normal operation and use. Article 20 An entity or any other producer or trader that produces, collects, stores, transports, utilizes, or treats solid waste shall take measures to prevent the scattering, run-off, and seepage of solid wastes, as well as other measures against environmental pollution, and shall not dump, stack, discard, or shed solid wastes without permission. Any entity or individual shall be prohibited from dumping, stacking or storing solid wastes in a river, lake, canal, channel, or reservoir, or its beach and sloping bank below the high-water mark, or any other place specified by any law or regulation. Article 21 In ecological protection red line areas, permanent basic farmland concentration areas and other areas that require special protection, the construction of centralized industrial solid waste and hazardous waste storage, utilization, and treatment facilities and sites and consumer waste landfills shall be prohibited. Article 22 To transfer any solid waste from the administrative area of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government for storage or treatment, one shall apply for approval to the ecology and environment department of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government from which the solid wastes are to be transferred, which shall grant its approval within a specified time limit after consulting with and obtaining permission from the ecology and environment department of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid wastes are to be accepted. No transfer may be performed without approval. The transfer of any solid waste from the administrative area of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government for utilization shall be filed with the ecology and environment department of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government from which the solid wastes are to be transferred. The ecology and environment department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government from which the solid wastes are to be transferred shall give notice of the filing information to the ecology and environment department of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid wastes are to be accepted. Article 23 It is forbidden to dump, pile up or treat any solid waste from abroad within the territory of China. Article 24 The state shall gradually achieve zero solid waste imports, and the ecology and environment department of the State Council shall organize the implementation in conjunction with commerce, development and reform, customs, and other departments of the State Council. Article 25 Where the customs suspects that imported goods are solid wastes, it may commission a specialized institution to perform attribute identification and exercise management according to the law based on the identification conclusion. Article 26 Ecology and environment departments, their environmental law enforcement agencies, and other departments charged with the duty of supervision and administration of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes shall have the power to conduct on-site inspection of entities and other activities and other producers and traders engaged in the production, collection, storage, transportation, utilization, and treatment of solid wastes within their respective duties. The inspectees shall truthfully report and provide necessary information. When on-site inspection is conducted, such measures as monitoring on the spot, collecting samples and consulting or printing materials relating to the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes may be adopted. Inspectors shall show their identification papers when they conduct on- the-spot inspection. Any trade secret known in the course of on-site inspection shall be kept confidential. Article 27 Under any of the following circumstances, the ecology and environment department and other departments charged with the duty of supervision and administration of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes may freeze or detain illegally collected, stored, transported, utilized, and treated solid wastes, facilities, equipment, sites, tools, and articles: (1) Possibly resulting in the extinction, concealment or illegal transfer of evidence. (2) Resulting in or possibly resulting in serious environmental pollution. Article 28 Ecology and environment departments shall establish a credit record system for entities and other producers and traders that produce, collect, store, transport, utilize, and treat solid wastes in conjunction with relevant departments and incorporate relevant credit records into the National Credit Information Sharing Platform. Article 29 The ecology and environment departments of people's governments at the districted-city level shall, in conjunction with housing and urban-rural development, agriculture and rural affairs, health, and other departments, regularly release information on the types, production, capacity for treatment, and utilization and treatment status of solid wastes, among others. Entities that produce, collect, store, transport, utilize, and treat solid wastes shall promptly disclose to the public information on the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes in accordance with the law and voluntarily accept social supervision. Entities that use and treat solid wastes shall make facilities and sites accessible to the public in accordance with the law to raise public awareness of and participation in environmental protection. Article 30 People's governments at or above the county level shall incorporate the prevention and control of environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes, consumer wastes, hazardous wastes and other solid wastes into annual reports on environmental conditions and the attainment of environmental protection goals and report to the people's congresses at the same level or their standing committees. Article 31 Any entity or individual shall have the right to report entities or individuals that cause environmental pollution by solid wastes. Ecology and environment departments and other departments charged with the duty of supervision and administration of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes shall release the reporting methods related to the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes, so as to facilitate public reporting. A department receiving a report shall process it in a timely manner and keep confidential the information relating to the informant; and, if a non-anonymous report is verified, rewards shall be given. If an informant reports the entity with which he or she works, the entity may not retaliate against the informant by canceling or modifying the labor contract, or other means. Chapter III Industrial Solid Wastes Article 32 The ecology and environment department of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the development and reform, industry and information technology, and other departments of the State Council, define the degree of industrial solid wastes' harm to and impact on public health and the ecology and environment, work out technical policies regarding the prevention and control thereof, and organize the dissemination of advanced production techniques and equipment for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes. Article 33 The industry and information technology department of the State Council shall, jointly with other relevant departments of the State Council, organize the research on, development and promotion of the production techniques and equipment that reduce the production and harm of industrial solid wastes, and issue a list of outdated production techniques and equipment that produce industrial solid wastes severely polluting the environment subject to time-limited obsolescence. Any producer, seller, importer, or user shall stop producing, selling, importing, or using equipment on the list specified in the preceding paragraph within the time limit prescribed by the industry and information technology department of the State Council in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council. Any adopter of production techniques shall stop adopting the techniques on the list specified in the preceding paragraph within the time limit prescribed by the industry and information technology department of the State Council in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council. Obsolete equipment on the time-limited obsolescence list shall not be transferred to another person for use. Article 34 The industry and information technology department of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the development and reform, ecology and environment, and other departments of the State Council, regularly release an orientation catalog of technology, techniques, and equipment for and products of the comprehensive utilization of industrial solid wastes, organize the assessment of the comprehensive utilization of industrial solid wastes, and promote the comprehensive utilization of industrial solid wastes. Article 35 Local people's governments at or above the county level shall formulate plans for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes, organize the construction of facilities for the centralized treatment of industrial solid wastes, among others, and promote the prevention and control of environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes. Article 36 An entity that produces industrial solid wastes shall establish and improve a responsibility system for the prevention and control of environmental pollution throughout the process of the production, collection, storage, transportation, utilization, and treatment of industrial solid wastes, keep an industrial solid waste management journal, faithfully recording the types, quantity, destination, storage, utilization, and treatment of industrial solid wastes produced, achieve the traceability and availability of inspection of industrial solid wastes, and take measures for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes. The placing of industrial solid wastes in consumer waste collection facilities shall be prohibited. Article 37 Where an entity that produces industrial solid wastes commissions another person to transport, utilize, or treat the industrial solid wastes, it shall verify the eligibility and technical capabilities of the commissioned party, sign a written contract as legally required, and stipulate the requirements for pollution prevention and control in the contract. The commissioned party, when transporting, utilizing, and treating industrial solid wastes, shall comply with the pollution prevention and control requirements in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and regulations and the contract and notify the entity that produces the industrial solid wastes of the transportation, utilization and treatment. If an entity that produces industrial solid waste violates the provisions of the first paragraph of this Article, it shall be jointly and severally liable with the commissioned party that causes environmental pollution and ecological damage, in addition to punishment under the relevant laws and regulations. Article 38 An entity that produces industrial solid wastes shall implement cleaner production review as legally required, reasonably select and utilize raw materials, energy and other resources, adopt advanced production techniques and equipment, reduce industrial solid waste production, and diminish the harm of industrial solid wastes. Article 39 An entity that produces industrial solid wastes shall obtain a pollutant discharge permit. Specific measures and implementation steps for licensing pollution discharge shall be specified by the State Council. An entity that produces industrial solid wastes shall provide the local ecology and environment department with information on the type, quantity, destination, storage, utilization, and treatment of industrial solid wastes, among others, as well as specific measures to reduce the production of industrial solid wastes and boost comprehensive utilization and comply with the provisions on the licensing administration system for pollution discharge. Article 40 An entity that produces industrial solid wastes shall utilize industrial solid wastes based on economic and technical conditions; and for industrial solid wastes temporarily not utilized or not susceptible to utilization, the entity that produces industrial solid wastes shall build storage facilities and sites as required by the ecology and environment and other departments of the State Council and perform safe and classification-based storage, or take measures for harmless treatment. For the storage of industrial solid wastes, protective measures that meet national environmental protection standards shall be adopted. The construction of facilities and sites for storing and treating industrial solid wastes shall comply with national environmental protection standards. Article 41 Where an entity that produces industrial solid wastes is to be terminated, measures for preventing and controlling pollution shall be taken before its termination to the facilities and sites for storing and treating industrial solid wastes, and the untreated industrial solid wastes shall be disposed properly to prevent environmental pollution. If an entity that produces industrial solid wastes has been altered, the altered entity shall, pursuant to state provisions about the environmental protection, carry out the safety treatment or take effective measures for untreated industrial solid wastes and the storage and treatment facilities and sites thereof so as to ensure the safe function of such facilities and sites. Where the parties concerned have, prior to the alteration, otherwise stipulated the assumption of responsibilities for preventing and controlling pollution by industrial solid wastes and the facilities and sites for storage and treatment, such stipulations shall prevail. However, the responsibilities of the parties concerned to prevent and control pollution shall not be exempted. The expenses, incurred from the safety treatment of untreated indust......