A recent CCTV investigation has uncovered widespread and long-term illegal dumping of waste on protected “permanent basic farmland” in two south-central provinces.
The designation means such lands can only be used for food production purposes. The concept was introduced by the government in 2008 to ensure continuous grain supply and China’s food security. But in areas in Hunan and Jiangxi, some permanent basic farmland is being used as dumping grounds for household garbage, construction debris, and even hazardous industrial waste, the investigation found.
The illegal diversion of land intended for food production is particularly concerning given China’s increasing dependence on food imports along with a falling food self-sufficiency rate. The latter has dropped from over 93% in 2000 to under 66% in 2020, and could fall even further, to around 59% by 2030, noted Cheng Guoqiang, a professor of agricultural economics and rural development at Renmin University, in 2022.
In March, the Chinese government announced aims to fully convert all permanent basic farmland into “high-standard” fields by 2035, with advanced irrigation, more efficient water use and increased soil fertility to ensure higher yields.
However, a key hindrance to this goal is China’s construction boom, which has led to continued dumping of building waste on farmland. In late 2024, local media reported on the illegal dumping of materials including concrete blocks and gypsum boards in Xiangtan city, Hunan. Authorities promised swift rectification measures, but CCTV, returning to the site in 2025, found the waste had merely been covered with a layer of soil.
The soil was likely added to prevent the waste from being noticeable in satellite imagery, Chang Jiwen, a deputy director at the Development Research Centre of the State Council, told the outlet.
Construction generates more than 2 billion tonnes of waste annually in China, about ten times the amount of household rubbish. However, the overall recycling rate for construction waste is less than 10% – far below the 95% seen in South Korea and Japan, according to a 2020 report from The Paper.
To address this, the government’s 2022 “Implementation Plan for Carbon Peaking in Urban and Rural Development” has sought to increase the recycling rate of construction waste to 55% by 2030 through methods including centralised treatment at specialised facilities.
Construction waste management has long been overlooked in policymaking due to its lower harm to the environment and human health relative to other waste, Tsinghua University professor Liu Jianguo told the Journal of Environmental Economics. But as management for other types of waste improves, construction waste is growing in priority, he noted.
Read Dialogue Earth’s previous analysis on China’s incinerator overcapacity.
