The Chinese mainland's southern town of Guiyu, once known for crude, family-run e-waste workshops, has become a national leader in sustainable recycling. High pollution control costs and a lack of proper equipment once filled local air with toxic fumes, leaving communities to shoulder health risks and environmental damage.
In 2015, local authorities opened the Guiyu Circular Economy Industrial Park, a bold step toward the Chinese mainland's carbon neutrality goals. The park attracted businesses that specialize in extracting reusable components and processing materials—transforming harmful waste into a valuable resource pipeline.
Today, the park operates as a fully automated recycling center. Advanced tracking systems identify and sort e-waste by type, while modern dismantling lines recover metals, plastics and rare earth elements. What began as a solution to local pollution now feeds recovered materials back into manufacturing, closing the loop on the electronic life cycle.
Guiyu's transformation offers a model for emerging markets and urban centers around the world. By marrying policy support with technological innovation, this once-polluted town is proving that e-waste can power circular economies—and drive real progress toward carbon neutrality.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
