GB 37822-2026 Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Concrete Mixing Plants, jointly revised and issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was formally implemented in 2026. The new standard drastically tightens control indicators for fugitive emissions, lowering the particulate matter emission limit from 1.0mg/m³ to below 0.5mg/m³. Coupled with rigid law enforcement requirements under the upcoming Eco-Environment Code taking effect on August 15, a nationwide wave of large-scale enclosed green technical renovation has swept ready-mixed concrete mixing plants, ushering the industry into an era of stringent supervision featuring ultra-low emissions and full-process closed-loop control.
This national standard targets four persistent environmental problems of traditional mixing plants: fugitive dust, noise disturbance to residents, direct discharge of wastewater and random stacking of solid waste, and sets clear mandatory renovation requirements. In terms of hardware construction, the standard stipulates that all newly-built, reconstructed and expanded mixing plants must adopt fully steel-structured enclosed workshops. Mixing main machines, belt conveyors and silos shall all operate under negative pressure enclosure, matched with bag pulse dust removal systems, intelligent high-pressure sprinklers and linked fog cannons, with dust collection efficiency no less than 99.9%. Sand and gravel stockyards must be fully enclosed with impermeable hardened ground, equipped with rainwater ditches and three-stage sedimentation tanks. All production cleaning wastewater and slurry shall be recycled 100% after treatment to achieve zero external discharge of production wastewater. Noise control standards have also been raised: daytime noise within plant areas shall not exceed 60 decibels, and nighttime noise shall stay below 50 decibels. Sound insulation cotton shall be installed on main mixing buildings, and shock-absorbing noise reduction strips shall be laid at vehicle accesses to mitigate impacts on surrounding residential areas at the source.
Upgraded law enforcement has transformed environmental renovation from an optional upgrade into a mandatory task. Since 2026, special environmental rectification campaigns targeting mixing plants have been launched in Guangzhou, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Zhejiang and other regions, with regular supervision conducted via UAV aerial inspections, 24-hour real-time data upload by online monitoring equipment and unscheduled night spot checks. For plants failing to complete enclosed renovation, exceeding dust emission limits or dumping waste residues arbitrarily, law enforcement authorities impose daily cumulative fines in accordance with the new Eco-Environment Code. Severe violations trigger mandatory "two cuts and three clearances": cutting off water and electricity supply, removing raw materials and equipment, and demolishing the whole plant. In Conghua District, Guangzhou, all 17 unlicensed illegal mixing plants were shut down in Q1; Xinjiang Xingshi City of the 13th Division issued production suspension orders to 12 plants lagging in rectification. The stringent regulatory environment pushes existing plants to accelerate investment in technical upgrades.
High costs of green renovation test corporate financial strength and speed up survival of the fittest across the industry. Estimates show that a medium-sized mixing plant needs an investment of RMB 1.2 million to 1.8 million for a full environmental upgrade including enclosed workshops, dust removal, water circulation and online monitoring. Many cash-strapped micro and small enterprises cannot afford such costs and have to close down. As of July 2026, more than 14,000 substandard backward mixing plants nationwide have been eliminated. Remaining compliant enterprises are concentrated in green building materials industrial parks. Local policies in many regions require new mixing plants to settle in industrial parks with an annual minimum production capacity of 600,000 cubic meters, fundamentally curbing disorderly distribution of scattered small-scale unregulated sites.
Driven by policy incentives, green low-carbon development and resource recycling have become core directions of technical renovation for mixing plants. Many regions encourage mixing plants to install distributed photovoltaic power stations on-site to cut production carbon emissions via renewable electricity. Recycled construction aggregate, steel slag, fly ash and phosphogypsum are widely promoted to partially replace natural sand and gravel, raising the comprehensive utilization rate of solid waste. Enterprises are required to establish full-life-cycle carbon footprint ledgers linked to the carbon accounting system of the building materials industry, laying groundwork for future carbon trading and green building material certification. Zhejiang, Luzhou and other regions have issued local green production guidelines detailing construction specifications for eco-friendly mixing plants, providing practical templates for corporate renovation.
Industry authorities stated that ultra-low emission renovation of mixing plants is not a short-term campaign-style governance measure, but a foundational task to fulfill the dual carbon goals of the building materials industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. In the future, Grade A environmental performance certification and three-star green factory qualification will become entry thresholds for bidding, forcing enterprises to adhere to clean production standards in the long run. Only by continuous investment in environmental equipment upgrades and improved closed-loop control systems can mixing plant operators achieve sustainable operation under strict ecological constraints and advance the comprehensive green transformation of the construction industry.
