Industry News
2026-10-18Introduction: The newly revised "Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Textile Industry" (GB 4287—2026) has been implemented in phases since 9月1日 this year. For the first time, it brings centralized wastewater treatment facilities of the textile industry into the scope of regulation, and allows wastewater from enterprises in printing and dyeing parks to be discharged indirectly through negotiated indirect discharge. On 10月12日, the Standard Implementation and Technical Seminar on Negotiated Indirect Discharge of Enterprise Wastewater in Printing and Dyeing Parks was held in Keqiao, Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Keqiao, where about 40% of the country's printing and dyeing capacity is concentrated, has adopted the model of "enterprise pretreatment + centralized park pollution control + negotiated pipe connection standards", achieving reductions in park land occupation, investment cost, and operating cost of 43%, 40%, and 12%, respectively.
What is "new" about the new national standard: from single compliance to collaborative governance
Textile printing and dyeing is an important livelihood industry in China and also a key area for water pollutant control. For a long time, printing and dyeing enterprises have been scattered in layout and have varied wastewater treatment capabilities. Some small and medium-sized enterprises, constrained by site, funding, and technology, find it difficult to stably achieve compliant discharge, making this a major challenge in water environmental protection. The newly revised GB 4287—2026 makes two key adjustments: first, it formally brings centralized wastewater treatment facilities of the textile industry into the scope of regulation, changing the previous regulatory gap of "only regulating enterprises, not parks"; second, it explicitly allows wastewater from enterprises in printing and dyeing parks to be discharged indirectly through negotiated indirect discharge, that is, printing and dyeing plants transport wastewater to the park wastewater treatment plant, both parties negotiate in advance to determine the "pipe connection standards", and then the wastewater treatment plant treats it uniformly and discharges it in compliance.
The significance of this institutional design is that printing and dyeing wastewater treatment has moved from single "compliant discharge" control to a new stage of collaborative governance between parks and enterprises. Quan Zhanjun, vice president of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, said at the seminar that the implementation of the new national standard is not only a mandatory requirement for promoting quality and efficiency improvement in industry pollution control, but also a key lever for the green and low-carbon transformation of the textile industry, and cannot be achieved without scientific and feasible technical pathways and practical exploration by parks and enterprises.
Keqiao practice: the "pipe connection standards" earned through 2万 water samples
Keqiao was born by water and prospered because of fabric. Its textile printing and dyeing capacity accounts for about 40% of the country and 60% of Zhejiang Province, and it is the first region in China to explore negotiated indirect discharge of printing and dyeing wastewater. To verify the scientificity and feasibility of the negotiated discharge model, Keqiao, together with the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, conducted systematic research on 66 enterprises in the printing and dyeing cluster area, monitored a total of 2万 water samples, and negotiated with enterprises one by one to determine indirect discharge limits.
This negotiation mechanism of "letting data speak" has brought tangible benefits. According to relevant local departments, under the negotiated indirect discharge model, in the park where 66 printing and dyeing enterprises are located, land occupation decreased by 43%, investment cost decreased by 40%, and operating cost decreased by 12%, and treatment efficiency and benefits improved significantly. Enterprises no longer need to build complete advanced treatment facilities individually; they only need to complete targeted pretreatment before connecting to the pipe. The park, relying on the country's largest specialized textile printing and dyeing wastewater treatment plant, achieves centralized pollution control and professional operation, with economies of scale and professional capabilities delivered simultaneously.
- Burden reduction at the enterprise end — small and medium-sized enterprises save the huge investment of building advanced treatment facilities themselves, pretreatment goals are more focused, and compliance costs drop significantly;
- Efficiency improvement at the park end — the influent quality of centralized treatment facilities is predictable, process operation is more stable, and compliant effluent is better guaranteed;
- Precision at the regulatory end — regulatory authorities focus on the park's final discharge outlet and the implementation of pipe connection agreements, and enforcement efficiency and environmental results improve simultaneously.
Three impacts on the industry and the water treatment market
The phased implementation of the new national standard combined with the promotion of the negotiated discharge mechanism is expected to have a sustained impact on upstream and downstream industries. First, demand for retrofitting existing facilities is being released: printing and dyeing parks across the country need to assess the treatment capacity and process adaptability of centralized treatment facilities, and upgrading and renovation of hydrolysis acidification, biochemical treatment, advanced nitrogen and phosphorus removal, and other stages will be launched successively. Second, demand for monitoring and smart solutions is rising: the negotiation and implementation of pipe connection standards depend on high-frequency water quality monitoring and data traceability, and the supporting market for online monitoring equipment, water quality data platforms, and smart water systems will expand accordingly. Third, park operation models are upgrading: specialized third-party treatment and "plant-network integrated" operation will become mainstream directions, and service providers with overall river basin treatment capabilities for industrial parks will gain greater market space.
For wastewater treatment engineering and equipment companies, the new national standard is not only a discharge specification but also a clear market roadmap: companies that provide quality-based and stage-based solutions around the chain of "pretreatment—pipe connection—centralized advanced treatment" will seize the initiative in this round of standard upgrading.
Conclusion
From "each meeting standards on its own" to "managing through consultation," GB 4287—2026 has pushed China's printing and dyeing wastewater treatment into a new stage of coordinated governance. The practice in Keqiao proves that scientifically negotiated discharge standards for connection to the sewer network can both safeguard the bottom line of the water environment and create tangible benefits for enterprises and industrial parks. As the standard is implemented nationwide in phases, it is expected that more printing and dyeing agglomeration areas will replicate this model, and the water treatment industry will also usher in a wave of equipment renewal and service upgrading with park coordination as the keyword.
About TIANYI TECH Co., Ltd.: TIANYI TECH Co., Ltd. (TIANYI LIMITED) focuses on the fields of wastewater treatment, reclaimed water reuse, and water environment governance, providing municipal and industrial clients with full-chain services such as process design, equipment integration, engineering general contracting, and smart operation. The company continuously tracks global water treatment policies, technologies, and market dynamics, and is committed to helping customers achieve efficient utilization and sustainable management of water resources with reliable solutions. For more information, please visit the company's official website at www.tianyitech.hk.
Source: China News Service, public information from the Implementation of the Discharge Standard for Water Pollutants in the Textile Industry and the Technical Seminar on Negotiated Indirect Discharge of Wastewater from Enterprises in Printing and Dyeing Parks (2026年10月)
