SHANGHAI • Beijing outlined new measures yesterday to improve the way it recycles and disposes of industrial waste like bricks and concrete, and prevent illegal dumping, in a bid to tackle one of China's biggest pollution problems.

New mechanisms and preferential policies, including tax exemptions, would encourage the "comprehensive utilisation" of waste, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a statement.

It would encourage firms to "standardise, make green and scale up" the complete recycling of products, including materials used in construction such as cement, bricks, and fire retardants, as well as mine slag and tailings, and porcelain.

Industrial waste has emerged as one of China's biggest environmental priorities as it tries to put an end to illegal dumping and rehabilitate land and water sources contaminated by hazardous chemicals or heavy metals.

A study published by the Ministry of Land and Resources in 2015 said as many as 100,000 industrial enterprises had closed or relocated since 2001, leaving behind huge amounts of untreated waste.

It said as much as 8 per cent of China's arable land was contaminated by heavy metals.

China's ministries have been scrambling to respond to a speech by President Xi Jinping last Saturday, where he vowed to use the full might of the ruling Communist Party to tackle long-standing environmental problems.

On Wednesday, state news agency Xinhua reported that the party's top disciplinary agency published six cases in which officials were found to have neglected their duties in environmental protection.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) named and shamed officials from six provincial- level regions for failing to perform their duties in detecting and investigating illegal activities such as dumping of hazardous waste.

The officials were given punishments ranging from warnings to removal from office, Xinhua said.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) also published new measures on Tuesday to crack down on the illegal transportation and dumping of industrial waste.

It called for action to improve China's ability to recycle and dispose of hazardous materials.

The MEE said in March that there were around 9 million sources of pollution in China, including 7.4 million industrial sources. The number has risen by more than half in just eight years.

China has also banned the import of many types of waste material, with Customs authorities now cracking down on illegal smuggling, as it tries to encourage recyclers to tackle rising levels of domestic waste instead.

REUTERS, XINHUA