All Chinese people living in cities are to pay for the disposal of
domestic waste, said an official of the Ministry of Construction
Tuesday.
China's central government departments such as the
State Development Planning Commission, the Ministry of Finance
and the Ministry of Construction have jointly issued a notice to
begin charging in every city.
All government departments, enterprises, individual business
people, social societies and municipal inhabitants are required to
pay for the management of domestic waste in cities, and the
specific prices will be decided by the local municipal governments
through price hearings, said the notice.
But those on low incomes such as laid-off workers and the
unemployed will receive a reduction or exemption, said the
notice.
Last year, the domestic waste produced in China's 670 cities
reached 135 million tons, 300 kg for every municipal resident,
however only 20 percent was safely disposed of.
"China currently is confronted with a lack of capital for improving
waste management," said Zhangyue, vice-director of the department
of urban development of the Ministry of Construction, noting that
the charge will speed up China's commercial process ofwaste
management by expanding investment channels and inviting more
enterprises into waste management work.
An
environmental sanitation expert estimated that if each municipal
dweller is charged 24 yuan, the Chinese government would receive 11
billion yuan from waste charges each year, topping the 8.4 billion
yuan the Chinese government invested in waste treatment in
2000.
"Who pollutes, pays," said the expert, adding that by adopting a
compensative service in the waste management, China could afford
proper waste treatment.
Statistics show that China plans to input 63.5 billion yuan in
improving its waste treatment equipment before 2010, and try to
lift the safe treatment rate to 80 percent.
(
June 26, 2002)