Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environment Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes (2016 Revision)

· Issuing authority： Standing Committee of the National People's Congress 

· Document Number： Order No. 57 of the President of the People's Republic of China

· Date issued： 11-07-2016

· Effective date： 11-07-2016

· Level of Authority： Laws

· Area of Law：Environmental Protection

Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environment Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes （2016 Revision） [Effective] （sectional text）

（Adopted at the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on October 30, 1995; revised at the 13th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on December 29, 2004; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision of Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China?and Other Eleven Laws as adopted 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 on Amending the Seven Laws Including the Law of the People's Republic of China on Ports?as adopted at the 14th Session of the Twelfth National People's Congress on April 24, 2015; and amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision of Amending Twelve Laws including the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China as adopted at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on Nov. 7, 2016）

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Supervision and Administration of the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes

Chapter III Chapter III Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes

Section I General Provisions

Section II Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Industrial Solid Wastes

Section III Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Consumer Wastes

Chapter IV Special Provisions on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Hazardous Wastes

Chapter V Legal Liabilities

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purpose of preventing and controlling environmental pollution by solid wastes, safeguarding human health, maintaining the ecological safety and promoting the sustainable development of economy and society.

Article 2 This Law shall be applicable to the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes within the territory of the People's Republic of China.

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, in preventing and controlling environmental pollution by solid wastes, implement the principles of reducing the discharge and harm of solid wastes, fully and rationally utilizing solid wastes and making them hazardless through treatment so as to promote cleaner production and the development of recycling economy.

The State shall adopt economic and technical policies and measures in favor of the comprehensive use of solid wastes, and fully recover and rationally utilize solid wastes.

The State shall encourage and support the adoption of beneficial measures of centralized treatment of solid wastes to the environmental protection and promote the industrial development of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes.

Article 4 The people's governments at or above the county level shall incorporate the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes into their environmental protection programs and adopt economic and technical policies and measures to facilitate the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes.

When relevant departments of the State Council, the people's governments at or above the county level and the relevant departments thereof formulate plans regarding urban-rural construction, land use, regional development and industrial development, they shall wholly take such factors into account as the reduction of discharge and harm of solid wastes and the promotion of comprehensive use and harmless treatment of solid wastes.

Article 5 For the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes, the State implements the principle that any entity or individual causing the pollution shall be responsible for it in accordance with law.

The manufacturers, sellers, importers and users shall be responsible for the prevention and control of solid wastes pollution produced thereby.

Article 6 The State shall encourage and support scientific research, technological development and the dissemination of advanced prevention and control technologies as well as of scientific knowledge in the field of prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes.

The people's governments at all levels shall strength the publicity and education on the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes and advocate favorable production methods and living styles to the environmental protection.

Article 7 The State shall encourage the entities and individuals to purchase and use renewable products and reusable products.

Article 8 The people's governments at all levels shall give awards to the entities and individuals that have achieved outstanding successes in the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes and in relevant activities of comprehensive use.

Article 9 Any and all entities and individuals shall have the obligation to protect the environment and shall have the right to report or file charges against those entities or individuals that cause environmental pollution by solid wastes.

Article 10 The environmental protection administrative department of the State Council shall conduct unified supervision and management of the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes throughout the country. The relevant departments of the State Council shall be responsible for supervising and managing the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes within their respective functions.

The environmental protection administrative departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall conduct unified supervision and management of the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes within their own administrative areas. The relevant departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for supervision and management of the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes within their respective functions.

The construction administrative department of the State Council and the environmental sanitation administrative departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for supervising and administering the cleaning, collection, storage, transportation and disposal of urban consumer wastes.

Chapter II Supervision and Administration of the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes

Article 11 The environmental protection administrative department of the State Council shall, pursuant to state environmental quality standards and state economic and technical conditions, formulate state technical standards on the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes in collaboration with the relevant administrative departments of the State Council.

Article 12 The environmental protection administrative department of the State Council shall establish a system for monitoring environmental pollution by solid wastes, formulate unified monitoring standards and, in conjunction with relevant departments, set up a monitoring network.

The environmental protection administrative departments of large and medium-sized cities shall regularly issue the types, discharging amount, disposal conditions and other information regarding the solid wastes.

Article 13 The construction of projects which discharge solid wastes and the construction of projects for storage, use and treatment of solid wastes shall be carried out upon the appraisal regarding their effects on environment and in compliance with the relevant state regulations concerning the management of environmental protection in respect of construction projects.

Article 14 The necessary supporting facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes as specified in the statement of the effect of the construction project shall be designed, built and put into operation simultaneously with the main part of the project. The construction project may be put into production or use, only after the facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes are found upon examination to meet the standards by the environmental protection administrative department that has originally examined and approved the statements about the effects on environment. The facilities for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes shall be checked and accepted at the same time as the main part of the project is checked and accepted.

Article 15 The environmental protection administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level and other supervisory and administrative departments for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes shall, in accordance with their respective functions, have the right to conduct on-site inspection of the entities within their jurisdictions that have something to do with the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid wastes. The entities under inspection shall faithfully report the situation and provide necessary materials. The inspection authorities shall keep confidential the know-how and business secrets of the entities inspected.

When conducting on-site inspections, the inspection organ may adopt 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.

Chapter III Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes

Section I General Provisions

Article 16 Entities and individuals that discharge solid wastes shall adopt measures to prevent or reduce the environmental pollution by solid wastes.

Article 17 Entities and individuals that collect, store, transport, utilize or dispose of solid wastes shall take measures to prevent the scattering, run-off and leakage of solid wastes, as well as other measures against environmental pollution.

No entity or individual may dump solid wastes into or pile them up at rivers, lakes, ditches, reservoirs, bottomlands, banks or slopes under the highest waterline or other places where the waste isn't allowed to be dumped or piled up according to laws and regulations.

Article 18 Any entity shall abide by state rules about the cleaner production for designing and manufacturing products and packages. The standardization administrative department of the State Council shall, pursuant to state economic and technical conditions, prevention and control situation of environmental pollution by solid wastes and technical requirements of products, formulate relevant standards to prevent environmental pollution by over-package.

The enterprises producing, selling or importing products and packages that have been listed in the catalogue subject to mandatory recycling shall reclaim the said products and packages according to state provisions.

Article 19 The State encourages scientific research and production institutions to do research on and manufacture plastic-sheet covering and packages of commodities that are easy to be recycled or treated, or easy to be degraded in the environment.

Entities and individuals that use agricultural films shall take measures like the recycling for utilization so as to prevent or reduce the environmental pollution by agricultural films.

Article 20 The engagement in the scale breeding of livestock and birds shall, according to relevant rules of the State, collect, store, utilize and dispose dung of livestock and birds produced in the breeding so as to prevent environmental pollution.

No straw or stalk may be burnt in the open air of population-centralized districts, surroundings of airports, neighboring districts of main communication arteries and districts as prescribed by the local people's governments.

Article 21 Management and maintenance of facilities, equipments and places for collecting, storing, transporting and treating solid wastes shall be improved so as to ensure their normal operation and function.

Article 22 No installation or site for centralized storage and treatment of industrial solid wastes or landfill of consumer wastes may be built in the nature reserves, scenic resorts, conservation areas of drinking water and basic farmlands and other areas requiring special protection that are prescribed by the State Council, relevant administrative departments of the State Council and the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 23 To transport any solid waste out of the administrative region of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for storage or treatment, one shall apply to the environmental protection administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be moved out for approval, which shall grant its approval after consulting with and obtaining permission from the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the solid waste is to be accepted. No transfer may be carried out without approval.

Article 24 It is forbidden to dump, pile up or treat any solid waste from abroad within the territory of China.

Article 25 The State forbids the import of solid wastes that cannot be used as raw material and those that can't be utilized through harmless treatment, and restricts the import of the solid wastes that can be used as raw materials and implements the classification management of non-restricted import thereto.

The environmental protection administrative department of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the foreign trade administrative department and the economic comprehensive macro-control department of the State Council, the General Administration of Customs and the quality supervision, inspection and quarantine department of the State Council, formulate, adjust and publish solid waste catalogues of import-forbidden, import-restricted and non-restricted import.

The import of solid wastes as listed in the catalogue of import-forbidden shall be forbidden. The import of solid wastes as listed in the catalogue of import-restricted shall be examined and approved by the environmental protection administrative department of the State Council in collaboration with the foreign trade administrative department of the State Council.

The imported solid wastes shall comply with state environmental protection standards and be inspected to be qualified by the quality supervision, inspection and quarantine department.

The specific measures for the administration of the import of solid wastes shall be formulated by the environmental protection administrative department of the State Council in collaboration with the foreign trade administrative department of the State Council, the economic comprehensive macro-control department of the State Council, the General Administration of Customs and the quality supervision, inspection and quarantine department of the State Council.

Article 26 Any importer that holds objections to the incorporation of his imported wastes into the administrative scope of solid wastes by the customs may file an administrative reconsideration according to law or lodge an administrative suit to a people's court.

Section II Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Industrial Solid Wastes

Article 27 The environmental protection administrative department of the State Council shall, jointly with the economic comprehensive macro-control department of the State Council and other relevant departments, define the environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes, work out technical policies regarding the prevention and control thereof, and organize the dissemination of advanced production techniques and equipments for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes.

Article 28 The economic comprehensive macro-control department of the State Council shall, jointly with other relevant departments of the State Council, organize the research, development and promotion of the production techniques and equipments that will reduce the discharge and harm of industrial solid wastes, and promulgate the list of backward production techniques and equipments that cause severe environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes and thus should be eliminated within the time limit.

Producers, sellers, importers or users shall stop producing, selling, importing or using those equipments as included in the list stipulated in the preceding paragraph within the time limit which are specified by the economic comprehensive macro-control department of the State Council together with other relevant departments of the State Council. The users of such production techniques shall stop using such techniques as included in the list stipulated in the preceding paragraph within the time limit as specified by the economic comprehensive macro-control department of the State Council jointly with other relevant departments of the State Council.

Eliminated equipments included in the catalogue of equipments to be eliminated within a set time shall not be transferred to any other for use.

Article 29 The relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall formulate a program for the prevention and control of environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes, popularize the advanced production techniques and equipments which can reduce the discharge and harm of industrial solid wastes and promote the prevention and control of environmental pollution by industrial solid wastes.