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A solid waste treatment plant in Jiaxing. [Photo/WeChat account: jxfabu]

Jiaxing in East China's Zhejiang province recently completed its application to be among the first batch of zero-waste cities in the province, local media reported.

The construction of zero-waste cities commenced in Zhejiang in 2020 and the province proposed that by 2023, all the cities and 50 percent of counties in Zhejiang will qualify as a zero-waste city.

A zero-waste city means a zero increase in waste production, no waste of resources, no solid waste dumping, no exhaust gas odors, and no blind-zones in supervision.

Jiaxing has since focused on technological reform and digital supervision and encouraged local residents to take part in the construction of a zero-waste city.

The city has invested 8 billion yuan ($1.25 billion) in establishing 46 solid waste treatment plants over the past three years. Its current utilization and disposal capacity of solid waste is triple that of 2016.

Jiaxing has also recruited 1,366 volunteers to inspect the ecological environment and invited more than 15,000 local residents to learn from the achievements in environmental improvement.

A zero-waste city refers to an advanced urban development and management model that aims to promote green lifestyle, minimize the amount of waste produced, strengthen recycling programs, and ensure that the waste released into the environment is harmless.