The implementation plan for the construction and management of domestic sewage and garbage treatment facilities in organized towns will be promoted

First, it is of great practical significance to promote the treatment of sewage and garbage in established towns

1. It will help deepen ecological and environmental governance. In recent years, China's urban domestic sewage waste treatment has achieved positive results, the treatment capacity of facilities has grown rapidly, and the collection, transportation and disposal system has been continuously improved, laying a solid foundation for in-depth pollution prevention and control. However, there are still shortcomings in the sewage waste treatment facilities of the established towns, as of the end of 2021, there are still one-third of the established towns do not have the sewage treatment capacity, the domestic sewage treatment rate is about 62%, and the domestic waste harmless treatment rate is about 76%. Problems such as the large gap of sewage and garbage treatment facilities in established towns and the unsustainable operation of existing facilities have been repeatedly mentioned by the central ecological environmental protection inspectors.

(2) It will help improve the environmental infrastructure network covering urban and rural areas. The Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan proposes to form an environmental infrastructure network extending from cities to towns and villages. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made it clear that the construction of environmental infrastructure should be improved and the improvement of urban and rural living environment should be promoted. The "Implementation Plan" has effectively filled the policy gap of sewage waste treatment at the level of organized towns, based on the characteristics of organized towns, focused on the needs of actual problems, clarified the cascade objectives, emphasized local conditions, classified policies, strengthened the management of facility construction, and provided effective policy guidance for comprehensively improving the supply quality and operation efficiency of facilities.

(3) It is conducive to promoting a new type of urbanization with county towns as an important carrier. The General Office of the CPC Central Committee and The General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Promoting Urbanization Construction with county counties as an important Carrier, proposing to promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas with county areas as the basic unit. The established town is the key link to promote the extension and coverage of county infrastructure to the countryside. The level of environmental infrastructure determines the living environment and overall appearance of built-up towns. Promoting the upgrading and expansion of sewage and garbage treatment facilities in built-up towns will effectively improve the quality of the living environment, effectively enhance the attractiveness of farmers, enhance the ability to radiate to the countryside, and effectively promote the realization of local urbanization.

Second, comprehensively strengthen the concept of systemic governance

1. Emphasizing overall planning and synergies. The "Implementation plan" clearly coordinates multiple factors such as natural endowments, economic and social development status, and ecological and environmental governance needs, including construction, operation, management and other links, covering the full cycle of "collection - treatment - resource utilization", and promoting the construction of sewage and garbage treatment facilities. The "Implementation plan" proposes to promote the simultaneous development of plant and network, the same governance of mud and water, and the promotion of integrated construction, operation and co-construction and sharing of facilities. The Implementation Plan points out that pollution control, ecological protection and resource conservation should be coordinated to promote the synergies of pollution reduction and carbon conservation.

2. Emphasizing policies tailored to local conditions. According to the Statistical Yearbook of Urban and Rural Construction in 2021 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, there are currently 19,000 built-up towns across the country, with a permanent population of 180 million in built-up areas. Affected by social economy, population size, geographical conditions and other factors, the amount and composition of domestic sewage waste in various towns and cities vary greatly, and the urban infrastructure construction model and standard cannot be blindly copied. The "Implementation Plan" proposes that, based on location characteristics, natural geographical conditions and water quality and quantity characteristics, the treatment mode should be selected according to local conditions, centralized when appropriate, decentralized when appropriate, taking into account standardization and operability, and research and formulation of local construction, operation and discharge standards to avoid blindly raising standards.

3. Emphasizing orderly progress and key breakthroughs. With the overall improvement of the sewage waste treatment level in organized towns as the starting point, with the organized towns above a certain scale and in key areas as the focus, the sewage waste treatment work in organized towns across the country will be promoted in an orderly manner. The "Implementation plan" clearly states that by 2025, the built-up areas of towns with a permanent population of more than 50,000 will basically eliminate the blank areas of the collection pipe network, and the built-up areas of towns with a permanent population of more than 10,000 and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will basically achieve full coverage of domestic sewage treatment capacity. Key towns in key areas with conditions take the lead in carrying out the classification and collection of domestic garbage, and gradually form the classification and collection mode of domestic garbage in organized towns with points and surfaces.