Sectoral surge sees rise in revenues

China's recycling sector surged in 2016, reversing a long trend of lean company revenues.

More than 250 million metric tons of waste materials were collected, a rise of 3.7 percent from 2015, according to a report published by the Department of Circulation Industry Development at the Ministry of Commerce in May last year.

The waste collected was worth more than 590 billion yuan ($88 billion), a year-on-year rise of 14.7 percent.

Among the 10 categories of recyclable materials named in the report, the number of used batteries collected rose by 20 percent from 2015, the highest increase, while their value rose by 34 percent.

The report predicted the scale of the market for metals extracted from used batteries would reach more than 52 billion yuan this year, and that number would more than double by 2020.

Scrap vehicles was the only category that recorded a year-on-year decline, dropping by 17.3 percent in volume and 11.4 percent in value.

The incorporation of information technology, such as the internet of things, big data and cloud computing, into the industry was one of the new features of the national recycling landscape.

Some entrepreneurs used the development of IT to establish recycling platforms that provided greater convenience to residents and groups in need of smarter methods of waste disposal.

Meanwhile, established companies either imported or developed their own advanced waste selection systems to improve efficiency and drive costs lower.

The report noted that the "Internet Plus recycling" model failed to develop as anticipated, and a lack of investment could force some operators into bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, a surge in the number of companies adopting the model saw too many operators using the same facilities, such as recycling bins at subway stations, which resulted in low profits for many collectors.

Smaller enterprises were still reliant on household waste of meager value and the unregulated pricing of waste.

However, the new technology-assisted model didn't resonate with solo scrap collectors, who stuck to the traditional method of collecting paper and electrical waste by visiting individual households.

That hampered efficiency and led to an unstable supply, leaving China's recycling rate lower than those of many developed countries.

By the end of 2016, more than 100,000 companies were working in the nation's waste recycling industry, which employed about 150 million people, according to the report.

The introduction of a wider range of preferential policies for companies in the sector, such as tax reductions, and the imposition of specific responsibilities for manufacturers, would eventually result in a more-advanced, large-scale systematic recycling industry, the report added.