Key points: The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with the NDRC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce — six departments in total — jointly issued the "15th Five-Year Plan" for Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control, proposing that by 2030 the annual comprehensive utilization of bulk solid waste reach 4.5 billion tonnes and the share of hazardous waste disposed of by landfill be held within 10%. For municipal sludge, the plan mandates whole-process management, promotes comprehensive utilization and co-disposal, and gradually reduces the amount landfilled.

Top-Level Plan Sets the Tone for "15th Five-Year" Solid Waste Governance

On July 14, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce, officially issued the "15th Five-Year Plan" for Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control, which was reviewed and approved by the relevant departments on July 8. As the top-level framework document for solid waste governance during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the plan defines the overall direction and core goals of solid waste pollution prevention and control over the next five years.

The main goals set out in the plan include:

• Comprehensive utilization of bulk solid waste — by 2030, the annual comprehensive utilization of bulk solid waste will reach 4.5 billion tonnes, advancing the shift from "end-of-pipe disposal" to "resource utilization".
• Hazardous waste reduction — by 2030, the share of hazardous waste disposed of by landfill will be held within 10%, sharply reducing this high-risk disposal pathway.
• "Zero-waste city" development — support about 200 cities in developing "zero-waste cities", advancing whole-process solid waste management on a city-by-city basis.

Sludge Sector: From "Landfill-First" to "Resource Recovery + Co-Disposal"

The plan makes dedicated arrangements for sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants, explicitly requiring strengthened whole-process sludge management, the promotion of comprehensive utilization and co-disposal suited to local conditions, a gradual reduction in landfilling, and reinforced manifest-based transfer supervision. This direction means:

• Comprehensive utilization — resource recovery pathways such as sludge-to-brick, sludge-to-ceramsite, landscaping soil, and building material utilization receive policy support.
• Co-disposal — sludge co-incineration relying on power plants and waste-to-energy facilities becomes the mainstream technology option.
• Whole-process supervision — the transfer manifest system is strengthened to eliminate illegal sludge dumping and cross-regional illegal transfer.

Policy Synergy: Circular Economy Plan Boosts the Resource Recovery Industry

Forming policy synergy with the solid waste plan is the "15th Five-Year Plan" for Circular Economy Development, issued on June 30 and released on July 3. The plan proposes that by 2030 the output value of the resource recycling industry reach 8 trillion yuan, clarifying the overall direction of diversified resource recovery of municipal solid waste. The two plans together provide multiple institutional supports — "reduction + resource recovery + industrialization" — for the sludge resource recovery industry.

On-the-Ground Practice: Sludge Resource Recovery Projects Accelerate Across Regions

Driven by policy, sludge resource recovery projects have been landing intensively across multiple regions recently:

• Yinchuan, Ningxia — Shenyao Technology signed a municipal sludge resource recovery and steam supply project using a "deep dewatering + sludge-biomass coupled incineration for heat supply" process, treating 450 tonnes of municipal sludge at 80% moisture content per day, achieving self-sustaining sludge combustion and heat supply.
• Xuchang, Henan — the sludge harmless treatment and resource recovery project in Xiangcheng County released its bidding plan, with a designed treatment capacity of 120 t/d (at 80% moisture content), an associated drying system, and a total investment of about 53.16 million yuan.
• Nanjing, Jiangsu — the sludge harmless disposal project of Jinling Environment's wastewater treatment plant adopts a power plant / waste incineration co-combustion technology route to advance sludge co-disposal.
• International updates — the Castilla y León region of Spain completed bidding for a sludge disposal project, providing collection, transport, composting-based resource recovery, and agricultural use services for 65 wastewater treatment plants, with an annual treatment capacity of 12,000 tonnes and a digital traceability system.

Industry Outlook

Overall, the "15th Five-Year" sludge industry has established a core tone of "resource recovery, low-carbon, and strict regulation". As the Ecological Environment Code takes effect, industry compliance requirements are comprehensively upgraded, and non-compliant simple disposal and landfill-only models will exit at an accelerating pace; meanwhile, market players with proper disposal capability and resource recovery technology will embrace broader development space. For wastewater treatment and solid waste treatment enterprises, laying out co-disposal channels, resource recovery technology routes, and digital traceability systems in advance is the inevitable choice for capturing the "15th Five-Year" policy dividend.

Source: the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's "15th Five-Year Plan" for Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control, the NDRC's "15th Five-Year Plan" for Circular Economy Development, and public industry information. This article is an industry news compilation for readers' reference.

About TIANYI TECH Co., Ltd. (TIANYI LIMITED)

TIANYI TECH Co., Ltd. is deeply engaged in wastewater treatment and water reuse, dedicated to providing municipal and industrial customers with efficient, low-carbon, and sustainable water treatment solutions.