Waste-Free Cities
Waste-free cities or zero-waste cities are not cities that have no solid waste or cities that can recycle all of their solid waste. "Waste-free cities" is an advanced idea on urban management, guided by China's new concept for innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. Through green development model and lifestyle, people can reduce the amount of solid waste at source and recycle it to minimize the amount of landfill and the impact on the environment. This will change the traditional model characterized by massive production, massive consumption and massive emissions, and in the end realize the goals of minimizing solid waste generation, and full recycling and safe disposal of solid waste in the cities.
In December 2018, the State Council published a plan on building pilot waste-free cities. The selected cities would reform their solid waste management, develop relevant norms and standards, and summarize successful practices to be replicated in other parts of China.
In May 2019, 16 pilot cities and zones began their waste-free initiative. These are: Baotou in Inner Mongolia, Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, urban Chongqing, Guangze County in Fujian, Panjin in Liaoning, Ruijin in Jiangxi, Sanya in Hainan, Shaoxing in Zhejiang, Shenzhen in Guangdong, Tongling in Anhui, Weihai in Shandong, Xining in Qinghai, Xiongan New Area in Hebei, Xuchang in Henan, Xuzhou in Jiangsu, and China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.
The waste-free city initiative is a move to extend reform in solid waste management, to create a waste-free society, and ultimately to build an eco-civilization and a beautiful China.
“无废城市”建设
“无废城市”不是指没有固体废物产生或固体废物完全资源化利用的城市，而是一种先进的城市管理理念，即以创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享的新发展理念为引领，通过推动形成绿色发展方式和生活方式，持续推进固体废物源头减量和资源化利用，最大限度减少填埋量，将固体废物的环境影响降至最低的城市发展模式。这一理念，旨在改变传统的“大量生产、大量消耗、大量排放”的生产和消费模式，最终实现整个城市固体废物产生量最小、资源化利用充分、处置安全的目标。
2018年12月，国务院办公厅印发《“无废城市”建设试点工作方案》，通过在试点城市深化固体废物综合管理改革，系统构建指标体系，总结试点经验做法，形成一批可复制、推广的“无废城市”建设示范模式。2019年5月，广东省深圳市、内蒙古自治区包头市、安徽省铜陵市、山东省威海市、重庆市（主城区）、浙江省绍兴市、海南省三亚市、河南省许昌市、江苏省徐州市、辽宁省盘锦市、青海省西宁市，以及河北雄安新区（新区代表）、北京经济技术开发区（开发区代表）、中新天津生态城（国际合作代表）、福建省光泽县（县级代表）、江西省瑞金市（县级市代表）等共16个试点城市和地区启动“无废城市”建设试点工作。
“无废城市”建设是深入落实中共中央、国务院决策部署的具体行动，建设试点是从城市整体层面深化固体废物综合管理改革、推动“无废社会”建设的有力抓手，是提升生态文明、建设美丽中国的重要举措。