Analysis of driving factors on China's industrial solid waste generation: Insights from critical supply chains

Xuemei Zhang; Min Zhou; Jiahao Li; Liyuan Wei; Yiqie Dong; Haobo Hou; Chang Chen; Zhen Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145185

Analysis of driving factors on China's industrial solid waste generation: Insights from critical supply chains

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Jun 25:775:145185. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145185. Epub 2021 Feb 10.

Authors

Xuemei Zhang¹, Min Zhou¹, Jiahao Li¹, Liyuan Wei¹, Yiqie Dong¹, Haobo Hou², Chang Chen³, Zhen Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China.
² School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China; Zhaoqing (Wuhan University) Environmental Technology Research Institute, Zhaoqing 526000, China. Electronic address: houhb@whu.edu.cn.
³ College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: changchen@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.

PMID: 33618309
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145185

Abstract

Industrial solid waste (ISW) poses a huge potential threat to human health and the environment. To prevent pollution at its source, it is necessary to analyze the socioeconomic drivers and identify the key supply chains that cause changes in ISW generation. In this study, based on monetary input-output tables (MIOTs) in China from 2011 to 2015, structural decomposition analysis (SDA) was used to study the influence of socioeconomic drivers on common industrial solid waste (CISW) and hazardous waste (HW) generation. Structural path decomposition (SPD) was used to further trace the effects of drivers at the supply chain level and obtain more meaningful results for policy formulation. Economic expansion was found to play the most crucial role in the increase in total ISW generation while the reduction of generation intensity effectively slowed the growth trend. From the final demand perspective, fixed capital formation contributed the most to ISW generation growth, accounting for 65.05% of the total final demand effect. Construction was the primary trigger. For CISW, the supply chain with the greatest overall influence was "metal ore mining industry → fixed capital formation" (including intermediate consumption of metal smelting, general and special machinery, and construction), reflecting how fixed capital formation indirectly affected the metal ore mining industry. The supply chain with the greatest influence on HW generation was "paper industry → exports." Based on the findings, corresponding policy adjustments are proposed.

Keywords: Critical supply paths; Industrial solid waste generation; Input–output analysis; Structural decomposition analysis; Structural path decomposition.