15/03/2016

Infographic:ConqueringChinasSludgeMountains|NewSecurityBeat

NewSecurityBeat
The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
CHINA ENVIRONMENT FORUM

Infographic: Conquering Chinas Sludge Mountains

April 9, 2015 | By Hongli Liu & Siqi Han

54
Shares

40

While Chinese officials make full frontal regulatory attacks on smog, untreated sludge, an often
toxic byproduct from sewage treatment, continues to quietly spread into groundwater and
contaminate soil and food.
One Tsinghua University study estimated that 34 percent of so-called sludge, which contains a
mix of human excreta and industrial waste, ends up in landfills, 14 percent is discharged
untreated into the environment, and a whopping 48 percent is used as fertilizer by farmers.
A group of private citizens in Beijing have started their own war on pollution, as the
government has branded its anti-smog efforts, by creating a sludge siege map that pinpoints
the locations of more than 30 dumping sites around the city. Caixin Media produced a video
https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2015/04/chasestinkconqueringchinassludgemountainsinfographic/

1/5

15/03/2016

Infographic:ConqueringChinasSludgeMountains|NewSecurityBeat

report (in Chinese) in March 2014 touring sites along the outer edges of the capital; at least four
are on farmlands or forested areas.

Chinas environmental problems are myriad, but without proper treatment and disposal,
pollutants from this untreated sewage byproduct are like a hidden time bomb, endangering the
long-term safety of food, water, and public health. Cleaning up heavy metals that have
accumulated in the soil is difficult and contamination can affect generations to come.

A Budget Gap
According to a report by the Asian Development Bank, Chinas wastewater plants produced
approximately 30 million tons of sludge in 2012, or five of Egypts Great Pyramid of Giza. Less
than 20 percent of this ever-expanding mountain of sludge is being treated.
Wastewater facilities in the United States and Europe are designed to
separate solids from wastewater. The residuals go through a tertiary
treatment to reduce disease-causing bacteria, viruses, parasites, and
heavy metals so the remaining solids (dry sludge) can be safely
disposed. Chinese wastewater treatment plants typically stop at

Chinas wastewater
plants produced
approximately 30
million tons of
sludge in 2012

secondary treatment and the remaining watery slurry is only lightly

treated, if at all.
Many existing wastewater treatment plants either lack the sludge treatment facilities or are
unwilling to pay the extra costs of using them. During the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), the
Chinese government planned to invest RMB 427 billion ($69.4 billion) into wastewater
treatment, a 22 percent increase over investments during the previous Five-Year Plan.
https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2015/04/chasestinkconqueringchinassludgemountainsinfographic/

2/5

15/03/2016

Infographic:ConqueringChinasSludgeMountains|NewSecurityBeat

According to Suez Environment, 350 to 450 grams of sludge is produced per cubic meter of
wastewater. Since the amount of sludge swells proportionately with the growth of wastewater
treatment capacity, the budget should too. Strikingly, the sludge treatment sector received only
RMB 35 billion ($5.6 billion), a growth of 7 percent over the previous period.

Mind the Regulatory Gaps

Poor sludge management is driven by three main factors: lack of data, a fragmented regulatory
system, and low water prices.
Perhaps the most troubling is the paucity of detailed, reliable data on treatment and disposal.
According to the Asian Development Bank, only about 20 percent of sludge undergoes a
secondary stabilization process in China, and 13 percent of the stabilized sludge is properly
prepared for agricultural application or other productive uses. The dominant practice, they
write, for more than 80 percent of sludge is simply dumping it into landfills, raw and untreated.
Besides the Bank report and Tsinghua study cited above, however, there is little data available.
Another barrier is a highly fragmented administrative system. It is
Many plants would
run at a loss if they
processed sludge

unclear which ministry is in charge of overseeing treatment facilities,

falling somewhere between no less than five ministries: Environment,
Agriculture, Finance, Health, and Housing and Urban-Rural
Development. Thus far, most government-issued documents on sludge

treatment only focus on technical guidance or minor policy details rather than industrial
standardization and regulations.
Low water prices also introduce perverse incentives for treatment facilities. The cost of sludge
treatment is often not included in wastewater fees or charged at an insignificant rate. For
instance, a miniscule RMB 0.04/ton of wastewater is charged for sludge treatment in Guangzhou.
As a result, many plants would run at a loss if they processed sludge and with lax oversight,
many simply choose not to.

Solutions
Perhaps not surprisingly, the ambitious targets set in the 12th Five-Year Plan for sludge
treatment, including a requirement that all municipal wastewater treatment plants install
sludge treatment equipment by the end of 2012, have not been met.
While policy implementation is behind the curve, its not for lack of attention from Chinese
environmentalists. On a Chinese messaging and discussion app called WeChat, Chinese experts
in the Sludge Network, which is chaired by Professor Chen Tongbin at the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences, share and discuss information. Over the course of a month in August 2014, I
interviewed several experts from the network, who highlighted three core areas for Chinese
policymakers to address in order to create incentives for sludge treatment:
Restructure ministerial supervision. At present, the institutional responsibility for
https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2015/04/chasestinkconqueringchinassludgemountainsinfographic/

3/5

15/03/2016

Infographic:ConqueringChinasSludgeMountains|NewSecurityBeat

overall coordination, planning, and management of sewage sludge is not defined. Experts
say that the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development should take the lead to
reorganize and restructure ministerial supervision. Though local governments are
responsible for overseeing the construction and operation of treatment and disposal
facilities, these duties are not effectively performed. There needs to be legislation
assigning responsibility for sewage management within the framework of overall urban
planning.
Incorporate sludge treatment into water fees. The RMB 60 billion ($9.8 billion)
investment in sludge planned in the 12th Five-Year Plan accounts for only 30 to 40 percent
of needed funds, according to Sing Cho, an urban specialist at the World Bank. The private
sector is expected to contribute the remaining 60 to 70 percent. Given the high capital
costs in sludge treatment, however, current wastewater fees make it almost impossible for
the private sector to recoup their investments. In the United States, water rates are set to
cover the entire cost, since sludge treatment is seen as an integral part of the wastewater
planning process. Industry experts in China suggest that average fees to cover sludge
treatment should be RMB 0.4-0.6/ton of wastewater (7-10/ton), depending on the
technologies used.
Prioritize pretreatment. Even with proper facilities and fees, the amount of heavy metals
and other pollutants entering the water system from non-residential sources essentially
prohibits the safe reuse of sludge byproducts. Al Appleton, the former New York City
commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection and director of the New
York City Water and Sewer System, believes a potential solution is the U.S. practice of
pretreatment at the source, before pollutants are dumped into sewage. Dealing with the
sludge issue via pretreatment strategies gives you a double bang for the buck, he said,
making it easier to treat both sewage and the resulting sludge.
Chinas massive investments in wastewater collection and treatment systems in recent years
have not been matched by complementary investment in sludge management. Consequently,
while significant improvements have been made in reducing surface and groundwater
pollution, there is now a growing challenge to prevent secondary pollution from accumulating
waste. Appleton holds that sludge management in China should be tied to dealing with water
pollution in general. Perhaps the most promising opportunity then is the upcoming Water
Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan, Chinas equivalent to the U.S. Clean Water Act,
which is expected to elevate water pollution prevention and pretreatment across the country.
Hongli Liu is a Masters candidate in public policy at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland. Siqi
Han produced the infographic and is a Masters candidate in environmental economics and policy at the Duke
University Nicholas School of the Environment. The authors would like to thank Jennifer Turner, Ilaria
Mazzocco, Susan Chan Shifflett, Qinnan Zhou, Darius Izad, and Xiupei Liang for their help.
Sources: Asian Development Bank, Caixin News, China Greentech Initiative, ChinaDialogue, Jiangsu Institute of
Environmental Industry, Reuters, Sohu, Suez Environment.
Image Credit: Siqi Han/China Environment Forum. Video: Caixin News.

https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2015/04/chasestinkconqueringchinassludgemountainsinfographic/

4/5

15/03/2016

Infographic:ConqueringChinasSludgeMountains|NewSecurityBeat

Topics: agriculture, Asia, China, China Environment Forum, development, economics, environment, featured, food
security, global health, natural resources, sanitation, U.S., video, water

https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2015/04/chasestinkconqueringchinassludgemountainsinfographic/

5/5