Shanghai releases draft municipal regulations on zero-waste city development, seeking comments on draft

On Dec. 29, 2023, the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress of Shanghai, China, published draft municipal regulations on zero-waste city development. The city sought comments on the draft through Jan. 12, 2024.

Article 2 of the draft regulations defines “zero-waste city” as the urban development model that achieves green and low-carbon development by continuously promoting the conservation and concentrated use of resources as well as the reduction of solid waste at source, and by minimizing the amount of solid waste to dispose of.

For zero-city development, the draft includes measures to reduce solid waste at source, develop a separate waste collection system, and implement the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme.