National Development and Reform Commission: Strictly crack down on the “workshop-style” recycling and dismantling of decommissioned power batteries to promote high-quality development of the recycling industry
On January 8th, the State Council Information Office held a regular briefing on the policies of the State Council. The relevant heads from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the People’s Bank of China, and the State Administration for Market Regulation introduced the situation on how to expand and implement the “Two New” policies with force and answer questions from reporters.
During the meeting, a reporter asked about the potential environmental pollution and resource waste issues that may arise from the replacement of large numbers of backward products and equipment during the process of “updating” and “renewing”. What arrangements have been made in terms of recycling old household appliances, old consumer goods, and old equipment under the “Two New” policies in 2025? What measures will be taken to promote recycling and reuse in the future?
Liu Dechun, Director of the Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, introduced that recycling and reuse is an important part of the “Two New” work. The value of resource recycling for old and discarded products is very high. For example, a small discarded car can produce more than 30 kilograms of waste rubber, more than 70 kilograms of waste plastic, and more than 700 kilograms of waste steel after being disassembled meticulously. With the deepening implementation of the “Two New” work, the discarding and replacement of old products and equipment will be significantly accelerated. In 2024, the number of discarded motor vehicles nationwide reached 8.46 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 64%.
Liu Dechun also stated that in the future, they will further implement a comprehensive resource conservation strategy, strengthen waste recycling in combination with the implementation of the “Two New” policies.
Fourthly, they will promote high-quality development in the resource recycling industry. They will accelerate the implementation of “reverse invoicing” by resource recycling companies to individuals selling discarded products. They will carry out special actions to promote the application of recycled materials, implement an extended producer responsibility system, and support manufacturers such as automobile and electronic appliance companies to increase their use of recycled materials. Illegal activities such as illegal recycling and dismantling of discarded vehicles, retired power batteries, and discarded electronic appliances will be severely cracked down on in accordance with laws and regulations.
