Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 15-01-2026 Origin: Site
Recently, the Solid Waste Comprehensive Management Action Plan (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), jointly drafted by 25 departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, was officially issued to the public.
As China’s first special document for the systematic deployment of solid waste management, it clearly sets the goals that by 2030, remarkable results will be achieved in the special rectification of solid waste in key fields, the annual comprehensive utilization volume of bulk solid waste will strive to reach 4.5 billion tons, and the annual recycling volume of major recyclable resources will hit 510 million tons. It also arranges five special rectification tasks, including illegal dumping and disposal, environmental risks of domestic waste landfills, construction waste treatment, and remediation of historical stockpiling sites.
Following the four logical lines of "source reduction – process control – resource utilization – end-of-pipe treatment", the Action Plan emphasizes both institutional and market-based measures. It also specifies the need to intensify research on key technologies and equipment, and coordinate supporting measures such as land use, funding, and taxation to support the development of resource recycling. The document highlights directions including the direct utilization of bulk solid waste without altering its properties, the refined dismantling of waste products to extract recyclable resources, and the promotion of recycled material applications, which directly point to a large number of scenarios and demands closely related to construction machinery.
The answer lies in two key points:
First, the policy clearly defines solid waste governance and resource utilization as national strategic tasks, which will drive long-term and large-scale governance and renovation projects.
Second, many governance processes are essentially civil engineering construction, demolition, transportation, screening, crushing and reprocessing – the natural domain of construction machinery. Therefore, construction machinery enterprises and practitioners have actionable paths to participate, covering equipment supply, engineering services, complete machine modification and supporting automation, as well as aftermarket services and leasing operations.
From the demand side, the most direct growth drivers include but are not limited to:
The clean-up of illegal dumping and historical stockpiling sites in urban areas and industrial and mining zones will drive operations of large-tonnage excavation, loading, transportation and dregs disposal.
The risk remediation of landfills and stockpiling sites requires specialized scraper, earthmoving and in-situ solidification/landfilling equipment.
To achieve reduction and on-site resource utilization of construction waste, integrated mobile crushing, screening, magnetic separation and washing equipment is needed, along with the promotion of compact machinery suitable for narrow urban construction sites.
The extraction of high-value components from industrial solid waste will spur the demand for specialized attachments and automated sorting lines for refined dismantling, sorting, crushing and targeted screening.
A single excavator, loader or bulldozer cannot form a closed value loop. Packaging these mainframe machines with attachments such as crushing heads, sorting arms, magnetic separation rollers, mobile screening stations, material washing systems, conveying and stacking systems, as well as simple pre-treatment and fine-processing units into an integrated "on-site resource utilization" solution can better meet the needs of municipal, construction, mining and recyclable resource enterprises. Manufacturers that can provide complete sets of solutions and undertake construction delivery will gain advantages in project bidding and operational returns.
Solid waste governance projects emphasize full-chain governance capabilities and traceability. Construction machinery enterprises should accelerate the deployment of vehicle-machine interconnection, material tracking, operation quality inspection, remote operation and maintenance, and performance evaluation. This will enable them to provide transparent and verifiable digital performance capabilities for government supervision and project owners. Aligning with systems such as recycled material quality certification and carbon footprint assessment will also become value-added services for equipment suppliers and service providers. The Action Plan’s provisions on improving recycled material standards and promoting carbon footprint certification have set the policy direction for such digital and certification services.
The resource utilization and remanufacturing of solid waste encourage the development of the "Internet + second-hand" and remanufacturing industries. Construction machinery manufacturers can leverage this to expand new businesses centered on equipment leasing, project-based payment (EPC+O) and equipment lifecycle management. For small and medium-sized equipment leasing companies and second-hand market operators, participating in recycling, dismantling and intermediate processing through remanufacturing and certification systems means new profit sources. Manufacturers can build mobile recycling stations or joint pilot projects with recyclable resource enterprises or third-party service providers to accumulate operational experience and technical specifications in advance.
The Action Plan clearly states the need to carry out R&D on key technologies for resource recycling and tackle key problems in major technical equipment, while supporting the establishment of recycled material standards and certification systems. Construction machinery enterprises should take the initiative to participate in national or local pilot projects and equipment R&D programs, and form quantifiable advantages in indicators such as crushing efficiency, power consumption, material sorting accuracy, dust and noise control, and remote and automated operation levels. Participating in standard-setting not only helps seize the right to formulate rules, but also facilitates the transformation of proprietary technologies into market access thresholds, thereby protecting profit margins.
It is clear that there are practical challenges to face. Solid waste projects often involve multiple departments, stakeholders and have obvious regional differences. From project approval, land use and funding to the final operational revenue model, they are more complex than traditional engineering projects. In addition, the profit model of resource utilization equipment initially relies on policy subsidies and local supporting measures, so the equipment payback period and risks may be higher than those of the conventional earthmoving or construction machinery market in the short term. Therefore, practitioners should prioritize cautious piloting, differentiated competition and service capabilities, rather than blind capacity expansion or price wars.
Enterprises can advance along three parallel lines:
Quickly address product and attachment shortcomings: Launch mobile crushing and screening kits suitable for construction waste and industrial solid waste, sorting modules with magnetic and air separation functions, and soil solidification and vegetation restoration equipment for landfill remediation.
Strengthen project undertaking and performance capabilities: Form alliances with waste treatment enterprises, third-party testing institutions and remanufacturing enterprises to undertake integrated "equipment + site + operation" tasks.
Actively participate in local pilot projects: Accumulate engineering data through demonstration projects to gain a voice in national-level equipment R&D and standard-setting initiatives.
Construction machinery enterprises need to enhance cross-disciplinary capabilities in solid waste treatment and material recycling. Materials science, chemical processing, environmental engineering and equipment integration capabilities will become key competencies alongside traditional mechanical design. Meanwhile, after-sales networks need to extend towards "on-site engineering services". Given the variable operating scenarios of solid waste projects, timely technical support and equipment modification capabilities directly determine project operational efficiency and customer stickiness.
From a macro perspective, the Action Plan’s time frame extends to 2030, indicating a medium-to-long-term market opportunity. It offers policy certainty while leaving sufficient space for the industry to accumulate technologies and explore business models. For the construction machinery industry, this is a catalyst for upgrading towards the "equipment + services + remanufacturing" model. Enterprises that understand both machinery and resource recycling logic, and can ensure compliance and traceability through digitalization, will take the initiative in the future solid waste governance and recycled material market.
In summary, the Solid Waste Comprehensive Management Action Plan is not just a work list for environmental protection departments. It opens an extension path for the construction machinery industry from traditional earthmoving and demolition to resource utilization and remanufacturing. The key lies in being project-oriented, technology-supported and service-linked, and seizing the complete value chain of "equipment substitution – supporting services – standard certification – long-term leasing/operation and maintenance". This will not only contribute to the country’s goals of pollution reduction, carbon emission reduction and circular economy development, but also help enterprises build new growth curves.
