IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i7p3215-d1628129.html

Evaluating Pollution Reduction and Carbon Mitigation in China’s Zero-Waste Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Zeyang Chai

    (School of Economics and Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China)

  • Xinjie Zhu

    (School of Economics and Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China)

  • Yuanyuan Sun

    (School of Accounting and Finance, Chongqing Business Vocational College, Chongqing 401331, China)

  • Xingyun Chen

    (School of Economics and Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China)

Abstract

Efficient waste management is instrumental in both reducing waste generation and mitigating CO 2 emissions. The Zero-waste City Pilot (ZWCP) policy, a location-oriented waste governance initiative, aims to minimize waste production, enhance waste management efficiency, and improve resource utilization. Therefore, does the ZWCP policy achieve the dual environmental effect of pollution reduction and carbon mitigation? Based on panel data from 158 cities in China from 2011 to 2021, this paper employed a difference-in-differences (DID) model to empirically assess the impact of the ZWCP policy on solid waste and CO 2 emissions. The results indicate that: (1) The ZWCP policy effectively reduced both solid waste and CO 2 emissions, and the estimation results are robust as shown by robustness testing. (2) The policy achieved pollution reduction and carbon mitigation through two transmission mechanisms: stimulating green technological innovation and strengthening environmental regulation. (3) Heterogeneity analysis revealed that the policy’s effects on pollution reduction and carbon mitigation are more pronounced in central regions, non-resource-based cities, and large cities. (4) The ZWCP policy demonstrated no discernible enterprise exit effect, indicating its success in balancing environmental protection with economic growth, thereby providing a strong rationale for its extension to additional pilot regions. (5) The spatial spillover effect analysis revealed no significant spatial spillover of the ZWCP policy’s dual environmental effects. This may stem from the policy’s urban-centric implementation, uneven resource allocation and weak cross-regional collaboration mechanisms—factors that highlight the necessity for stronger cross-regional governance in waste management strategies. The study’s conclusions carry important policy implications for advancing China’s ecological civilization goals while provide valuable insights for other developing countries seeking to design effective zero-waste strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Zeyang Chai & Xinjie Zhu & Yuanyuan Sun & Xingyun Chen, 2025. "Evaluating Pollution Reduction and Carbon Mitigation in China’s Zero-Waste Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:7:p:3215-:d:1628129
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/3215/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/3215/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hong, Qianqian & Cui, Linhao & Hong, Penghui, 2022. "The impact of carbon emissions trading on energy efficiency: Evidence from quasi-experiment in China's carbon emissions trading pilot," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    2. Yu, Yanni & Zhang, Xinyi & Liu, Yunxiao & Zhou, Tao, 2024. "Carbon emission trading, carbon efficiency, and the Porter hypothesis: Plant-level evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    3. Hondroyiannis, George & Papapetrou, Evangelia & Tsalaporta, Pinelopi, 2022. "New insights on the contribution of human capital to environmental degradation: Evidence from heterogeneous and cross-correlated countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    4. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Feng, Yi & Peng, Diyun, 2022. "A green path towards sustainable development: The impact of low-carbon city pilot on energy transition," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    5. Seman, S.Z.A. & Idris, I. & Abdullah, A. & Shamsudin, I.K. & Othman, M.R., 2019. "Optimizing purity and recovery of biogas methane enrichment process in a closed landfill," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 1117-1127.
    6. Bekun, Festus Victor, 2024. "Race to carbon neutrality in South Africa: What role does environmental technological innovation play?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 354(PA).
    7. Li, Penghui & He, Chunyang & Huang, Qingxu & Wang, Yida & Duan, Xiaoyu, 2024. "Metacoupling flow of embodied carbon in resource-based cities: A case study of Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos-Yulin urban agglomeration in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    8. Yadav, Sanjeev & Samadhiya, Ashutosh & Kumar, Anil & Luthra, Sunil & Pandey, Krishan Kumar, 2024. "Nexus between fintech, green finance and natural resources management: Transition of BRICS nation industries from resource curse to resource blessed sustainable economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. Zeyang Chai & Feng Guo & Jianhong Cao & Xiaodong Yang, 2024. "The road to eco-efficiency: can ecological civilization pilot zone be useful? New evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 67(3), pages 477-503, February.
    10. Zi Ye & Chen Zou & Yongchun Huang, 2022. "Impact of Heterogeneous Spatial Structure on Regional Innovation—From the Perspectives of Efficiency and Gap," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, September.
    11. Chen, Xiaohong & Mao, Yue & Cheng, Jixin & Wei, Ping & Li, Xiaoming, 2024. "Green financial policy, technological advancement reversal, assessment of emission reduction effects," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    12. Chen, Zhihao & He, Yong & Liao, Nuo, 2024. "Can carbon emission trading policy enhance the synergistic emission reduction of carbon dioxide and air pollutants? A comparative study considering different pollutants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    13. Ma, Lina & Iqbal, Najaf & Bouri, Elie & Zhang, Yang, 2023. "How good is green finance for green innovation? Evidence from the Chinese high-carbon sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Asif Ali & Jinkai Li & Jin Zhang & Muhammad Zubair Chishti, 2024. "Exploring the impact of green finance and technological innovation on green economic growth: Evidence from emerging market economies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 6392-6407, December.
    2. Yue Tang & Shixiang Li & Feng Wu, 2025. "How Does Carbon Emissions Trading Impact Energy Transition? A Perspective Based on Local Government Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Xingcun Qin & Genglin Dong & Pengcheng Xie & Yulong Zhang & Cuiping Liao, 2024. "Impact of Green Finance on Carbon Emission Efficiency and Spatial Spillover Effects: A Case Study of Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-22, November.
    4. Xu, Jingru & Yang, Baochen & Yuan, Chunlai, 2024. "Enhancing natural resource efficiency through digital government: Evidence from the utilization of energy, water, and land resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    5. Jingru Xu & Xiangjing Tong & Baochen Yang, 2024. "The spatial spillover effect of carbon emission trading scheme on green innovation in China’s cities," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 73(2), pages 639-669, August.
    6. Ge, Liming & Zheng, Heyun & Lv, Kangjuan & Huang, Han & Tan-Soo, Jie-Sheng & Feng, Chen, 2025. "The effect of low-carbon city construction on PM2.5: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    7. Chen, Zeyu & Tang, Yuhong & Shen, Hebin & Liu, Jiali & Hu, Zheng, 2024. "Threshold effects of Government digital development and land resource disparity on Urban carbon efficiency in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    8. Lin, Boqiang & Xu, Chongchong, 2024. "The effects of industrial robots on firm energy intensity: From the perspective of technological innovation and electrification," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    9. Sinan Erdogan & Guray Akalin, 2025. "Empirical Evidence on the Impact of Technological Innovation and Human Capital on Improving and Enhancing Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-17, August.
    10. Wang, Lisha & Pan, Minjie & Qian, Xinlei & Lv, Kangjuan, 2025. "Do specialized courts matter? Environmental judiciary and corporate emissions in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    11. Liu, Shimeng & Xiong, Xiong & Gao, Ya, 2025. "Market-based environmental regulations and green innovation: Evidence from the pilot carbon markets in China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(PA).
    12. Yang, Shangrong & Yan, Rujing & Zhang, Jing & Wang, Jiangjiang & Bai, Zhang & He, Yu & Hu, Keling & Ao, Xuan, 2025. "Nested long-short-term temporal compression optimization for high-renewable integrated energy systems with hydrogen storage and heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    13. Qiang Tu & Limei Zuo & Jianlei Mo & Yingnan Wang, 2026. "Carbon pricing, green innovation, and production efficiency—new evidence from China," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 1-32, March.
    14. Viglioni, Marco Túlio Dinali & Calegario, Cristina Lelis Leal & Bruhn, Nádia Campos Pereira, 2025. "Effects of economic complexity and metallic mineral resources on renewable energy transition in developing countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    15. Xiao, Yi & Yang, Haonan & Xiang, Xin & Li, Zhen & Zhang, Lanyue, 2025. "Lifting or lessening? Examining the effect of low-carbon city trial on synergistic reduction of pollution and carbon emissions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    16. Xiaoqi Li & Dingfei Guo & Chao Feng, 2022. "The Carbon Emissions Trading Policy of China: Does It Really Promote the Enterprises’ Green Technology Innovations?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-15, November.
    17. Mengyao Liu & Yan Hou & Hongli Jiang, 2023. "The Energy-Saving Effect of E-Commerce Development—A Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-22, June.
    18. Zhao, Shikuan & Abbassi, Wajih & Hunjra, Ahmed Imran & Zhang, Han, 2024. "How do government R&D subsidies affect corporate green innovation choices? Perspectives from strategic and substantive innovation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 1378-1396.
    19. Ma Kai & Qi XU & Muhammad Sibt e Ali & Mohd Abass Bhat & Akhtar Rehman & Laeeq razzak Janjua, 2026. "Digitalization and institutional quality as drivers of global value chains: evidence from ASEAN using CS-ARDL Analysis," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    20. Da Gao & Chang Liu & Xinyan Wei & Yang Liu, 2023. "Can River Chief System Policy Improve Enterprises’ Energy Efficiency? Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-17, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:7:p:3215-:d:1628129. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.