Master thesis in Sustainable Development 293 Examensarbete i Hållbar utveckling Feasibility Study of Implementing Vafab Municipal Solid Waste Management to Wuhan, China Yuan Kong DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES INSTITUTIONEN FÖR GEOVETENSKAPER Master thesis in Sustainable Development 293 Examensarbete i Hållbar utveckling Feasibility Study of Implementing Vafab Municipal Solid Waste Management to Wuhan, China Yuan Kong Supervisor: Åsa Stenmarck Evaluator: Roger Herbert Copyright © Yuan Kong and the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University Published at Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University (www.geo.uu.se), Uppsala, 2016 Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Scope and Limitations ...................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Organization of the Thesis ............................................................................................................................... 3 2. Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Sustainable Development ................................................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Circular Economy ............................................................................................................................................. 5 2.3 Integrated Sustainable Waste Management ................................................................................................... 7 2.4 Feasibility Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 8 2.5 Legal, Social and Technical Barriers ................................................................................................................. 9 3. Materials and Methods.......................................................................................................................................... 9 3.1 Semi-structured Interview ............................................................................................................................... 9 3.2 Literature Study ............................................................................................................................................. 10 3.3 Field study ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 4. The EU and Sweden’s Waste Legislations ............................................................................................................ 11 4.1 The EU Waste Legislations ............................................................................................................................. 11 4.1.1 The Waste Framework Directive ............................................................................................................. 11 4.1.2 Landfilling ................................................................................................................................................ 12 4.1.3 The Waste Incineration Directive ............................................................................................................ 12 4.1.4 Biodegradable Waste .............................................................................................................................. 12 4.1.5 Packaging Waste ..................................................................................................................................... 12 4.2 Sweden’s Waste Legislations ......................................................................................................................... 12 4.2.1 Swedish Environmental Code ................................................................................................................. 12 4.2.2 The Waste Ordinance .............................................................................................................................. 13 4.2.3 Landfill .................................................................................................................................................... 13 4.2.4 Incineration ............................................................................................................................................. 14 4.2.5 Other Related Ordinances ...................................................................................................................... 14 4.2.6 Environmental Impact Assessment ......................................................................................................... 15 5. About Vafab ......................................................................................................................................................... 15 5.1 Past ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 5.2 Decisions about waste management since 1990’s ........................................................................................ 16 5.4 Combustible Waste - Mälarenergi AB ............................................................................................................ 17 5.6 Business Ownership ....................................................................................................................................... 19 5.7 Current Goals ................................................................................................................................................. 20 5.8 Future Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 21 6. China’s National and Local Waste Legislations .................................................................................................... 21 6.1 National Waste Legislations ........................................................................................................................... 21 6.1.1 Law of the PRC on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes ................ 21 6.1.2 Landfills ................................................................................................................................................... 22 I 6.1.3 Incineration ............................................................................................................................................. 22 6.1.4 PRC Environmental Impact Assessment Law .......................................................................................... 23 6.2 Provincial and City-level Regulations ............................................................................................................. 23 7. About Wuhan MSWM .......................................................................................................................................... 24 7.1 History of Wuhan MSWM .............................................................................................................................. 24 7.2 Present ........................................................................................................................................................... 24 7.2.1 Mixed Collection of Household Waste and Co-incineration ................................................................... 24 7.2.2 BOT Model in Co-incineration Plant ....................................................................................................... 26 7.3 Future of Wuhan MSWM ............................................................................................................................... 27 7.4 Household Waste Collection and Informal Incentives ................................................................................... 27 7.5 Main Actors in Wuhan MSWM ...................................................................................................................... 29 7.6 Waste Treatment Subsidies ........................................................................................................................... 29 8. Results ................................................................................................................................................................ 30 8.1 Legal Instruments .......................................................................................................................................... 31 8.1.1 Landfill .................................................................................................................................................... 31 8.1.2 Waste Incineration .................................................................................................................................. 32 8.1.3 Waste Hierarchy and 3R Principal ........................................................................................................... 33 8.2 Household Waste Treatment Technologies ................................................................................................... 34 8.2.1 Combustible Waste ....................................................................................................................................