State Grid's recycling centers forge sustainable path

Utility company's innovative solutions bring environmental, economic benefits, Hou Liqiang reports from Chongqing

Editor's note: China Daily is publishing a series illustrating the country's efforts to achieve its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

At a nondescript industrial estate in Chongqing, Southwest China, transformers formerly used in the municipality's electricity grid are being dismantled piece by piece, recycled, and potentially hazardous waste is disposed in an environmentally friendly way.

Such has been the case since 2022, when State Grid Corporation of China, the world's largest utility enterprise, established the first of 14 recycling centers across the country to contribute to the national climate targets of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and going carbon neutral before 2060.