Ordos coal waste model wins national recognition

Ordos city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region shared its innovative practices in coal-based solid waste management at the 2026 Seminar on Experience Sharing and Communication for Building a Beautiful China, held in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Nov 9.

Ordos was the only invited representative from Inner Mongolia.

As a major national energy base, Ordos has developed a systematic approach tailored to its industrial conditions. Its efforts focus on four areas: improving policy frameworks, integrating waste disposal with ecological restoration, accelerating project implementation, and advancing high-value utilization through technological innovation. These measures aim to address the challenges of managing large volumes of industrial solid waste while improving resource efficiency.

The city has made significant progress in its green transition. In 2025, the comprehensive utilization rate of general industrial solid waste increased 37 percentage points from 2020, while the coal gangue utilization rate jumped nearly 50 percentage points to reach 95.7 percent.

In March 2026, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment featured Ordos' practices in a dedicated briefing, recognizing its innovative approach and achievements in coal-based solid waste management.