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Papers
Delivered at International
Conference on Cleaner Production |
Cleaner Production in ChinaWang
Shoulan Wu Shaohua Abstract: The main point of this thesis is about the concept, the content and the target of cleaner production, and the technical method and basis to achieve it. Also this thesis shows the strategy of sustainable development as well as the realization of sustainable development by carrying out cleaner production in our country. Key Words: Cleaner Production, end-of-pipe, Sustainable Development Preface At present the economical development in our country continues to use the classical patterns by and large, of which the mass consumption of resource and the extensive operation is the main character. And the policy of environmental protection in industrial pollution is mainly up to the enterprises to control the pollution discharged (end-of-pipe). These years we have done a lot of work and gained much achievement. The environmental quality of local area is getting better, but the situation of the whole environmental quality is not hopeful. Our economical development is dropping deeply into the shortage of resource and the pollution of environment. In the beginning, the classical patterns not only destroy the environment, but also waste resource hugely, and that's why they accelerate the natural resource's using up and make the development unsustainable. To follow up, the policy to control industrial pollution, which focuses on the end-of-pipe, ignores the whole control of pollution, thus it can not radically abate pollution. Therefore it is showed in China Agenda of 21 century that we should transit development strategy, carry out Cleaner Production, and drop down the way of sustainable development. On Sep, 1998, the Chinese representatives signed The International Declaration on Cleaner Production in Seoul of Korea. In Match, 1999, Prime Minister Zhu Rongji put forward a wise opinion of encouraging Cleaner Production, which passed through Operational Report Of Government in the second conference of the fifth National People's Congress. The practice both here and abroad have shown that Cleaner Production not only benefits environment but also benefits economy and society, and it is the only way to carry out sustainable development. Concept, Content and Target of Cleaner Production In 1996, Cleaner Production was formulated under the auspices of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), and is defined as: Cleaner Production (CP) is the continuous application of a preventive environmental strategy applied to processes, products and services to increase eco-efficiency and reduce the risks to humans and the environment. The definition of Cleaner Production refers two series of control in the whole process and one requirement of services. For production process, cleaner production means to use energy and resources efficiently, to eliminate toxic raw materials, and to reduce both the amount and toxicity of all emissions and wastes before they leave the production process. For products themselves, cleaner production means to reduce their environmental impact throughout their entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to the ultimate disposal of the product. The main content of Cleaner Production is that: 1.1 Rationalize the utilization of resource and energy. It means that the enterprises should make great efforts in production, products and services to: use renewable resource, utilize new and clean energy, implement power-saving technology and steps, save raw materials and energy with fewer materials which are expensive and rare, use secondary resource as raw materials, and recycle materials. 1.2 Maximize economic benefit. In order to gain large economic benefit, the enterprises should improve production efficiency, reduce cost, increase value added of products and services, and therefore should live up to the following requirements: To reduce the usage of raw materials and energy. To decrease intermediary products. To introduce advanced process and high performance technique of production. To diminish wastage of materials and energy. To prolong life cycle properly. To pack rationally; to use recoverable wrapper in so far as possible. To improve quality of products and consummate managerial system of enterprises. To arrange sound production schedule. And to set upstanding corporate image. 1.3 Minimize harm to humans and the environment. The enterprises should minimize the negative influence of environment that is brought by productive activity and prospective consumption, and therefore should live up to: reduce all kinds of hazard in procedure, adopt production technique and process, eliminate toxic materials, and generate waste that is disposable or degradable. The target of Cleaner Production is that: a) It is the comprehensive utilization of resource, scarce resource and secondary energy, and the varieties of steps of energy saving, consumption reducing and water saving that are used to rationally utilize natural resource and slow up exhaustion of resource. b) The other purpose of Cleaner Production is to decrease generation and discharge of waste and contamination, to improve production and consumption of industrial products consistent with environment, and to reduce risks of the whole industrial activity to humans and the environment. The realization of the target, which can ensure the sustainable development of national economy, will embody in the unification of economic and social efficiency of industrial production. Technical Method to Realize Cleaner Production The technology of Cleaner Production is a complex and comprehensive problem that involves environmental law, production technique and process of consumption. The technical method to realize Cleaner Production is as following: 2.1 Source-cut and sound utilization of resource Source-cut is to reduce both the amount and toxicity of wastes in a maximum limit before they are created. It's the sustainable utilization of resource that establishes the basic premise of developing industry. In general production process, the cost of raw materials makes up of 70 percents of entire cost. Consequently, comprehensive utilization of raw materials can directly reduce the cost of products, and increase the economic benefit as well as reduce the generation and discharge of wastes. 2.2 Transform technologies and facilities Simplify the technologies and facilities in process. Change to use effective facilities and improve distribution of facilities and pipeline. Alter technological conditions appropriately in the basis of primary technologies, for example, to assemble different technologies together or to develop new process with up-to-date scientific and technological achievements and so on. Implement optimized control in process. 2.3 Implement materials recycle Recycle the materials, which are run off, as raw materials to the process; recycle the wastes, which are created in production process, as raw materials or substitute of raw materials to the primary process or other process after they are appropriately disposed. 2.4 Adjust product structure Replace the toxic outdated products with the products that do no harm to environment or the products that are not made by highly toxic raw materials. Give products the sound length of life. Put serialization of products. Make products easy to recycle, renew and reuse after they are useless. Promote system of Cleaner Production symbol. 2.5 Enhance management The management here is concerned with enterprises, which includes environmental quality management, product quality management, overall process control management and management that relative to benefits and business (eco-management of enterprises) and so on. It's because of the little cost, no concerned with basic technological process and 40% of contamination reduced that strengthened product quality management is top-priority measure in improving Cleaner Production overseas. That's why strengthen quality management is always the topic of enterprises. Cleaner Production and Sustainable Development 3.1 Sustainable development theory The World Committee of Environment and Development (WCED) of the United Nation put forward the uniform define of sustainable development as " development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." WCED emphasizes that the key target of sustainable development is to improve economic growth, to rise quality of economic growth, to satisfy requirement of society for employment, food, energy, water resource and sanitation, to control the population at a sustainable level, to protect and enhance resource base, to redirect technology and manage risks, to combine environment with economics in decision-making, and to reconstruct international economic relationship. The main understanding of sustainable development is that eco-sustainablity is the expectant character of human action pattern as the target of development. 3.2 Theoretical basis of Cleaner Production Since more than one hundred years ago, Marx has yet pointed that, mass production would finally result in reducing the wastes to a minimum level and rising the direct utilization of all raw materials and auxiliary materials. Cleaner Production accords with this thought, and so comes the following theoretical basis: Theoretical basis one is material balance theory. That is the theory of transformation between wastes and resource. During production, the more wastes are generated, the more materials (resource) are consumed, because the wastes originate from the materials. Therefore the efficient use of materials (resource) is the essence of minimizing wastes. Cleaner Production embodies in maximizing utilization of resource, minimizing wastes, and doing no harm to environment. Theoretical basis two is the optimization theory. In fact, Cleaner Production is the problem to generate more production with less materials consumption in the specific condition of production. Its theoretical basis is the optimization theory in mathematics. In general, we can express the minimization of wastes as the objective function in order to find out the optimal solution in the specific condition. Theoretical basis three is the socialized mass production theory. Marx believed that the uppermost rule of socialist construction is to generate more production that can satisfy society with less labor consumption. Marx predicted that the improvement of machinery made the materials, which were useless in the customary forms, gain some kinds of new forms that could be used in production and the improvement of science, especially the improvement of chemistry, found out the usefulness of the wastes. Socialized mass production and improvement of science to the time offer Cleaner Production necessary condition. 3.3 Cleaner Production and sustainable development strategy As the transformation process of materials, industrial production has two ports: input port is resource, and output port is products and wastes. Science improves, the scope of utilization of resource extends, and new products and new industrial production department spring up. As a result the quantity and species of wastes constantly increase. the discharging speed of which is so fast that the earth can not absorb them, and the natural resource is consumed so fast that it can hardly recover itself. That is why the developed countries are faced to the challenge between industrial production and environment pollution. With the discussion about the problem, such as "growth limit" and "zero growth", people gradually recognize that the only way for the humankind to adapt the requirement of growth and development is to transform the traditional patterns of development and to follow the way of sustainable development. On the above-mentioned background, Cleaner Production is generated. In general, the improvement of economy will consequentially bring pollution. But pollution must be handled in a relatively acceptable level. Moreover the perennial supportability of natural environment should be considered, and at the same time the environment protection should accommodate the economical sustaining power in a definite level of economical development. Then feasible environmental policy should be carried out to coordinate and improve the development of economy. Therefore, Cleaner Production is the certain way to sustainable development. Cleaner Production in China The concept of cleaner production has been accepted and put into effect by more and more country besides China. Someone forecast that cleaner production is the fundamental pattern in the 21st century. China government always response positively to the concept of cleaner production advocated by international society and progress greatly in some respect such as demo in enterprises, promulgating and training, agenda construction, international corporation ,some policy legislation. China has established more than 140 training centers throughout country since 1993. In 1994, the nation cleaner center has been established, and as followed some local and special cleaner production centers has been established. At the end of 1997, 219 enterprises had been implemented cleaner production check. The cleaner production ’measure implemented derived a profit about 0.5 billion yuan per year and so was the environment profit, reducing passage of COD 78 thousand tons per year, reducing passage of wasted water 1260 thousand tons per year, reducing passage of wasted gas 0.8 billion m3 per year. In 2000, 4 National Environment Protection Bureau established and promulgated “some advice about implementing cleaner production”, and on 7.20.2000, the sketch law on China. P.R. cleaner production (the third edition) has been established and passed. The law includes management of cleaner production, progress in the technology, safe measures, law responsibility, etc and provides some fundamental patterns, and special measures. As far is concerned, 24 provision (including self-government region, independent city) has began some demonstrations in cleaner production by the help of some environment departments, general economic departments and industry special management departments, or are prepared to do so. These demonstrations involved many- profession such as chemistry, light industry, building material, metallurgy, petroleum industry, power, plane manufacture, medical, mine, electricity, etc. In the latest years, China National Environment Protection Bureau corporate with World Bank, UN environment bureau, UN industry develop organization and America Federal and State environment bureau, getting technical funds $700 million. Although cleaner production has been engaged attention in our country, it is far not enough for the continuous developing strategy since cleaner production’s effect is limited in the individual or few special and local enterprises. In the “Sino-Canada cleaner production policy research” meeting established several days before, some experts remark that cleaner production’s running status is not satisfying after examination although some achievement is made. The reason goes as follows: first, some employer response indifferently to cleaner production, second the check effect of cleaner production cannot persist in the long run. So experts advised there must be a rush need to establish a system involved in policy determination and implement so as to push the cleaner production to a high stage and to use cleaner production strategy to establish ISO14000 environment management system. There must be something to be done to persist the effect of cleaner production and cleaner production itself so as to achieve the goal of preventing pollution and persisting progress. And the continuous developing strategy should be involved in national economic and society developed “nine-five” sketch and 2010 sketch so that china economic, society and environment will develop in a good circulated and proportional manner. References
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