China cleans up 60m tons of solid waste, targets illegal cave dumping

China has cleaned up more than 60 million metric tons of solid waste in a nationwide special campaign targeting illegal dumping and improper disposal, a senior environmental official said on Tuesday.

Zhong Bin, director-general of the Department of Solid Waste and Chemicals at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said at a news conference that the campaign, launched in June 2025 by the ministry and six other departments, including the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, has achieved notable results.

By the end of August, authorities across the country had identified more than 62,000 solid waste-related problems through inspections, he said.

About 80 percent involved construction waste and household garbage, while general industrial solid waste accounted for 7.3 percent. The rest mainly involved livestock and poultry manure and mixed solid waste, Zhong continued.

More than 49,000 problems have been rectified so far, he said, adding that many long-standing piles of garbage near communities have been removed, helping address a large number of accumulated pollution problems.

Zhong said waste dumped in caves is a special type of illegal solid waste disposal because such pollution is more concealed and harder to clean up. Many cases are found in remote rural areas.

The ministry has launched a targeted investigation and rectification campaign for cave waste and other solid waste pollution, focusing on provinces and regions with large karst landform areas, including Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Chongqing municipality.

Based on information from natural resources authorities, local governments, media reports, public complaints and field inspections, authorities have compiled a list of more than 94,000 caves in key areas, Zhong said.

"For caves that can be accessed, authorities have carried out blanket on-site inspections and established problem lists one by one," he said.

More than 86,000 caves have been inspected, and 8,775 pollution problems involving garbage and other solid waste have been found, Zhong added.

Rural household garbage accounted for about 90 percent of the cases, while other waste included livestock and poultry manure and construction waste.

Rectification work has been carried out according to local conditions, Zhong said. Nationwide, 5,143 cave-related pollution problems have been addressed, with 82,000 tons of solid waste cleared.

He said the ministry will continue to guide key provinces in carrying out the special investigation and rectification work and ensure that all tasks are completed on schedule.

For problems that have not yet been rectified, authorities will maintain close supervision, adopt science-based treatment measures, and remove each case from the problem list only after rectification is completed, Zhong said.

The ministry will also strengthen random checks and follow-up reviews. Problems that are not properly rectified or that reappear after cleanup will be promptly corrected, he added.