China Materials Recycling AssociationThe China Renewable Resources Recycling Industry Development Report (2026) (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") recently released by the China Materials Recycling Association shows that in 2025, China's renewable resources recycling industry as a whole maintained steady growth, with the total recycling volume of 11 major categories reaching 417 million tons,up 4.1% year on year; the total recycling value reached 1.39 trillion yuan,up 3.8% year on year. Among them,scrap steel remained the category with the largest recycling volume, accounting for more than 60% of the total. Driven by thetrade-in policyand the continuous improvement of the renewable resources recycling system, the recycling volumes of waste batteries (excluding lead-acid batteries), waste tires, and end-of-life motor vehicles increased significantly.

Promoting the application of recycled materials is of great significance for developing the circular economy, safeguarding resource security, and advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. At present, China has initially established the world's largest resource recycling and reuse system with the most comprehensive category coverage. With the introduction of policy guidance documents and the in-depth implementation of large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in policies, the volumes of discarded equipment and consumer goods recycled and dismantled have increased substantially, creating favorable conditions for further promoting resource recycling and efficient utilization.

The Report points out that the widespread application of digital means such as"Internet + Recycling"and intelligent equipment, as well as theaccelerated deployment by leading enterprises and central state-owned enterprises, is driving the industry towarddigitalization, standardization, and intensive development. At the same time, the level oflarge-scale and intelligentequipment for scrap steel processing continues to improve, and home appliance recycling has achievedonline-offline coordination and full-process traceability, further improving the green circular system.

In terms of methods, the "Internet + Recycling" model is reshaping the ecosystem of the renewable resources recycling industry. In urban areas, models such as"online appointment, door-to-door collection"as well asintelligent recycling facilitiesplaced in residential communities not only improve the convenience for residents to hand over recyclable resources, but also help expand service coverage and reduce intermediate circulation links. Cui Yan, Secretary-General of the China Materials Recycling Association, believes that renewable resources recycling enterprises should accelerate digital transformation, deepen the application of the "Internet + Recycling" model, and buildonline recycling information platformsto improve functions such as online appointment, information sharing, and convenient public services, promote intelligent recycling facilities, and enhance recycling convenience and coverage.

In terms of market players, the entry of central state-owned enterprises is accelerating the industry's transformation from"small, scattered, and disorderly" to "intensive and standardized". Cui Yan said that central state-owned enterprises such as theChina Resource Recycling Groupare entering the renewable resources recycling industry one after another. Through methods such asintegration and mergers and acquisitions, standardized operations, they will gradually reverse the extensive development pattern of the industry, promotetraceable and high-value utilizationof renewable resources, and significantly improve the industry'sconcentration and standardization level, helping form a closed-loop full-chain system covering front-end collection, midstream processing, and back-end resource utilization, and providing strong support for safeguarding national resource security and promoting green and low-carbon transformation.

For a long time, supply and marketing cooperatives, as the national team and main force in renewable resources recycling and utilization, have played an active role in building the renewable resources recycling system. Yang Fengbin, Deputy Director of the Industrial Development Division of the Department of Economic Development and Reform of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, introduced that by the end of 2025, the entire system had cultivated 995 wholly owned and holding renewable resources enterprises, 49,000 renewable resources recycling stations, and more than 600 sorting centers. Among them, more than 4000 standardized and regulated recycling stations had been newly built or upgraded in total, along with more than 200 green sorting centers.

In 2024, China Resource Recycling Group Co., Ltd. was established. Therecycled steel resource recycling and reuse platformbuilt by its subsidiary Zihuan Lianjin Renewable Resources Co., Ltd. has realized the integration ofphysical flow, capital flow, invoice flow, contract flow, and information flow into "five flows in one". For every batch of scrap steel, the pound sheet, quality inspection, and logistics from the source to the steel mill are all handled online, ensuring authentic and traceable transactions."At present, the platform's cumulative total number of users has exceeded 100,000, transaction volume has exceeded 100 million tons, and transaction value has surpassed 250 billion yuan." Tao Ye, Party Secretary and Chairman of Zihuan Lianjin Renewable Resources Co., Ltd., said that the entry of central state-owned enterprises has promoted the continuous improvement of industry standards and technical specifications, playing the role of a "ballast stone."

"Promoting the high-quality development of the renewable resources industry requires coordination between government and enterprises and concerted efforts from multiple parties." Tao Ye suggested that, on the one hand, central-local coordination and upstream-downstream industrial chain linkage should be strengthened to build an ecosystem for circular resource utilization; on the other hand, classification and grading should be used as the starting point to establish a nationally unified quality standards system for renewable resources. At the technical level, efforts should also be strengthened in technological breakthroughs and standard development for large-scale equipment dismantling capabilities, carry out research on refined dismantling technologies, focus on breakthroughs in intelligent identification, classification guidance, and high-value utilization, and form replicable technical standards and operating specifications.

Yang Fengbin said that they will continue to guide leading enterprises such as China Renewable Resources Development Group Co., Ltd. to explore and promote the implementation of models such as"Internet + Recycling," "integration of two networks," and "trade-in + recycling"through building digital service platforms and carrying out urban and rural environmental sanitation services, and then promote typical experience across the entire system after it is formed.

As the industry grows, it also requires the whole society to jointly foster a favorable development atmosphere. Cui Yan said that it is necessary to շարունակously advocate green and low-carbon lifestyles, raise public awareness of resource recycling, guide residents, institutions, and enterprises to actively participate in standardized recycling, and promote the formation of a good social trend in which the whole society jointly participates in the recycling and utilization of renewable resources.