Recently, the "Action Plan for Promoting the Application of Recycled Materials" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan") jointly issued by seven departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment was released. The Action Plan aims to gradually increase the proportion of recycled material applications, accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of key industries, support and ensure the security of the industrial and supply chains, and promote the development of circular economy to achieve greater results. The application and promotion of recycled materials are of great significance for the development of circular economy, ensuring resource security, and promoting the achievement of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. ”The relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission introduced that China has initially established the world's largest and most comprehensive resource recycling and reuse system. By 2024, the total amount of recycled resources from the top ten varieties in China will exceed 400 million tons, with scrap steel and waste paper providing raw materials for the production process accounting for about 21% and 70% respectively. The application and promotion of recycled materials have a good working foundation. The Action Plan proposes that by 2030, the waste recycling system will be further improved, and standards and certification systems for the promotion and application of recycled materials will be gradually established. The annual recycling and utilization of scrap steel and paper will exceed 300 million tons and 80 million tons respectively, and the annual production of recycled non-ferrous metals and recycled plastics will exceed 25 million tons and 19.5 million tons respectively. The proportion of recycled materials used in industries such as automobiles, electrical and electronic products, textiles, and packaging will steadily increase, and the role of recycled material application in ensuring resource security and promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction will be further enhanced. Focusing on improving the supply guarantee capability of recycled materials, the Action Plan proposes to enhance the supply guarantee capability of recycled steel, improve the supply level of recycled non-ferrous metals, enhance the production capacity of high-quality recycled plastics, strengthen the supply of other recycled materials such as recycled paper, and improve the waste recycling system. To increase the application of recycled materials in key products, the Action Plan proposes to promote the use of more recycled materials in automobile manufacturing, improve the application level of recycled materials in electrical and electronic products, increase the application of recycled materials in battery production, and encourage textile, packaging and other production enterprises to use recycled materials. Regarding the establishment of a sound management system for the use of recycled materials and the improvement of policies for the promotion and application of recycled materials, the Action Plan proposes to improve the certification system for the promotion and application of recycled materials, steadily promote the traceability management of recycled material data, improve the market-oriented mechanism for carbon reduction of recycled materials, improve incentive policies for the promotion and application of recycled materials, and promote the utilization of overseas recycled raw materials. The Action Plan focuses on both the supply and demand sides, accelerating the establishment of a policy and institutional system for promoting the application of recycled materials. This is of great significance for the comprehensive construction of a resource recycling system covering the whole society, and helps to promote the formation of a new resource security concept where primary and renewable resources complement each other. ”Zhang Deyuan, Director of the Circular Economy Research Office at the Institute of Economic System and Management of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomics, said. Mo Xin, Vice President of Tsinghua Suzhou Environmental Innovation Research Institute, believes that the introduction of the Action Plan is not only an important manifestation of promoting the transformation of resource utilization methods and improving resource utilization efficiency, but also a vivid practice of implementing the comprehensive conservation strategy. By implementing the Action Plan, the application of recycled materials in China is bound to form a larger scale and make important contributions to the green and low-carbon transformation of key industries, as well as the security and stability of industrial and supply chains. (New Society)