Energy recovery from solid wastes in China and a Green-BRI mechanism for advancing sustainable waste management of the global South

Abstract

The only proven alternative for the recovery of value from materials that cannot be recycled is waste to energy (WTE). The first part of the paper provides evidence as to the advantages of WTE over landfilling and examines the role of WTE in the urban environment. The second part of the paper is a holistic analysis of the legislative instruments used in China, that have led to the construction of nearly 400 plants from 2005 to 2019. The Chinese government was instrumental in the development of Public and Private Partnerships (PPPs), in form of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), or Build-Own-Operate (BOO) models with a lifetime of 20 years to 30 years. The government accepts most of the investment risk by participating in the equity structure, providing strong tax and policy incentives, and becoming fully engaged in public education and acceptance of new WTE projects. The construction and operation of these plants by the private sector had to comply with the governmental performance standards in order to receive incentives, such as an appreciable credit over the price of electricity received by coal-fired plants. The last part of this paper examines how the elements of the Chinese renewable energy and waste management laws, may be transposed to federal and state legislation for potential application in countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region.