China's annual recycling of recyclable resources up by 1.5% YoY

In 2023, a total of around 376 million tonnes of recyclable resources was recycled in China, up by 1.5% YoY, with the total amount of recycled resources worth at RMB 1.3 trillion (USD179 billion), down by 1.2% YoY, according to China National Resources Recycling Association.

The recyclable resources are divided into ten categories, including scrap iron and steel, waste non-ferrous metals, waste plastics, wastepaper, waste tires, waste electrical and electronic products, end-of-life motor vehicles, waste textiles, waste glass and waste batteries (excluding lead-acid battery).

The annual recycling of scrap iron and steel declined by 1.2% YoY to 238 million tonnes but remained the biggest category, accounting for over 60% of the total recycled materials. The annual recycling of waste non-ferrous metals reached 14.48 million tonnes, up by 5.3% YoY.