China Sets 4.5 Billion Tonne Annual Bulk Solid Waste Utilization Target by 2030, Transforming Mine Waste Management Landscape
The State Council of China has implemented a landmark national action plan for comprehensive solid waste management, establishing a quantitative target of achieving 4.5 billion tonnes of annual comprehensive utilization of bulk industrial solid waste by 2030. The policy, released in December 2025, marks the country’s first systematic national framework for solid waste governance and is driving significant shifts in the mine waste sector, which accounts for the largest share of China’s industrial solid waste stream.
Policy Framework and Core Targets
The Action Plan for Comprehensive Solid Waste Management (Guofa [2025] No.14) addresses the full lifecycle of bulk solid waste, a category encompassing tailings, coal gangue, smelting slag, red mud, and construction debris. Mine-related waste streams – including tailings, coal gangue, associated minerals, and smelting residues – represent over 70% of total bulk solid waste generation in China, making them the primary contributor to the 4.5 billion tonne utilization target.
Global data indicates that as of 2025, the worldwide comprehensive utilization rate for mine tailings stands at approximately 17.8%, while the rate for waste rock is 22.4%. China currently outperforms the global average with utilization rates of 31.2% for tailings and 38.6% for waste rock, though these figures remain notably below the 60%+ levels achieved in many developed economies. This gap translates to a potential annual utilization increment of over 1 billion tonnes for tailings and waste rock alone under the 2030 target.
Regulatory Measures Driving Closed-Loop Industry Practices
The action plan introduces a combination of source control and end-of-life treatment measures to enforce industry transition from the traditional "extraction-first, disposal-later" model to full-chain closed-loop management.
At the source, the policy establishes a clear regulatory red line: it promotes integrated mining and beneficiation construction to facilitate on-site backfilling of tailings, and will no longer approve beneficiation projects that lack self-owned mines or supporting tailings utilization and disposal facilities. This requirement effectively eliminates standalone beneficiation operations that generate waste without corresponding treatment capacity.
For historical legacy issues, the plan sets a timeline requiring completion of remediation for over 60% of the country’s historical solid waste stockpiles by 2030, along with full environmental risk remediation of all red mud ponds and tailings ponds. China currently hosts tens of thousands of tailings ponds, representing a substantial market for remediation and resource recovery services.
Market Growth and Technological Advancements
The policy implementation has catalyzed increased activity in the mine waste disposal and resource utilization sector, with both market scale and technological innovation showing accelerated growth.
According to industry estimates from Huaon Industrial Research Institute, China’s specialized mining and mineral processing waste disposal and resource utilization market reached 89.24 billion yuan ($12.3 billion) in 2025, representing an 11.3% year-on-year growth rate – significantly faster than the overall industrial solid waste treatment sector. Projections indicate this market could exceed 200 billion yuan ($27.6 billion) by 2030.
Technological advancements are enabling higher-value utilization of mine waste beyond traditional low-end applications such as road construction and land reclamation. Key commercialized technologies include:
Full tailings paste backfilling, which converts tailings into materials for filling mined-out areas, addressing both waste disposal and mine safety concerns
Alkali-activated geopolymer technology, which transforms silicon and aluminum components in tailings into high-strength cementitious materials for construction
Efficient valuable component extraction, which recovers rare and precious metals from tailings, creating "secondary mines" from previously discarded waste
The policy also includes financial support mechanisms to drive investment, such as green finance incentives and central government subsidies covering up to 60% of costs for historical legacy waste remediation projects, with a maximum subsidy of 300 million yuan ($41.4 million) per project. These measures have attracted investment from major mining companies, environmental protection enterprises, and specialized technology firms.
Shifting Waste Management Models
The combined policy and market forces are driving a fundamental shift in mine waste management practices, moving from simple stockpiling and landfilling toward comprehensive circular economy models.
Current industry practices include:
On-site disposal for underground mines, where waste rock and tailings are directly backfilled into mined-out areas to prevent surface subsidence
Large-scale conversion of non-backfillable waste into construction materials such as tailings powder, concrete admixtures, and new wall materials
"Soil-like" utilization for ecological restoration, where processed waste is used as a substrate for mine reclamation
A notable example is the tailings comprehensive utilization project in Wuping, Fujian Province, which processes 500,000 tonnes of tailings annually from Zijin Mining operations into tailings powder and underground backfill curing agents, generating an annual output value of approximately 80 million yuan ($11 million).
Global Context and International Implications
As a major global producer of mineral resources, China’s approach to mine waste management carries significant implications for international sustainable development efforts. The transition from linear "resource-product-waste" models to circular "resource-product-waste-regenerated resource" systems aligns with global goals for reducing industrial environmental impact and advancing the circular economy.
Bulk solid waste management is a critical challenge facing industrialized and industrializing nations worldwide, China’s comprehensive national framework provides valuable insights into how policy targets, regulatory measures, and technological innovation can be combined to address large-scale industrial waste issues. The international community can benefit from sharing best practices and technical expertise in this area to advance global sustainable development objectives.
Source: 国务院45亿吨目标落地，矿山固废资源化迎来黄金期