Baotou is going greener all the time. At the end of 2019, the green area rate in Baotou had reached 39.97 percent and the green coverage rate reached 44.5 percent. [Photo/Baotou Daily]

Baotou in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region has been advancing its development as a zero-waste city since it was selected to be a national zero-waste pilot city in 2019, according to local media reports.

A zero-waste city is an advanced urban development and management model that aims to promote ecofriendly lifestyles, minimize waste, strengthen recycling programs and ensures that harmful waste is not released into the environment.

In terms of industry, policies and measures -- such as Measures for Encouraging and Supporting the Development of ‘Enclave Economy’ in Baotou and the Work Plan for Optimizing Space Layout -- have been issued to guide the promotion and development of the city’s economic model.

Officials said that Baotou has been making concerted efforts in its industrial transformation and upgrading. At present, the city has 4.48 million kilowatts in installed wind power capacity and 800,000 kW installed capacity in solar power parks. The city’s overall installed capacity for new energy has now reached 32 percent of its total installed capacity.

In terms of agriculture, Baotou has promoted the conversion of agricultural straw into fertilizer and feed. Tumd Right Banner was selected as a pilot place to promote the National Crop Straw Comprehensive Utilization Project.

To date, the banner has achieved new straw comprehensive utilization of 46,000 tons, taking Baotou city's straw utilization rate to more than 83 percent.

In terms of lifestyle, Baotou has promoted the classification of household waste in an orderly manner, officials said, with two residential communities and five street offices selected to carry out pilot projects for waste classification.

Baotou is to promote the development of 110 green shopping malls, green supermarkets and green catering companies throughout the city. Some 10 green catering companies were initially established and 14 green shopping malls and 15 green supermarkets have been declared.