On December 3, it was learned from the first "City Minerals" Expo: During the "12th Five-Year Plan" period, China is expected to achieve energy savings of 1.155 billion tons of standard coal and 720 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions through the development of "urban minerals." In recent years, China has approved the establishment of 29 state-level "urban minerals" demonstration bases. During the “12th Five-Year Plan” period, China will build 100 demonstration bases for comprehensive utilization of resources and 50 demonstration bases for “urban minerals”.

According to the relevant person in charge of the China Recycling Resource Recycling Association, China has now entered the peak period of scrapping of electrical and electronic products and automobiles, and the number of discarded products has increased year by year. It is estimated that at least 15 million home appliances and tens of millions of mobile phones will enter the phase-out period each year in the next few years. By 2020, the number of scrapped electronic products will reach 137 million units each year; and the number of cars scrapped each year will reach 4 million to 6 million. By 2020, the annual volume of autos will exceed 14 million.

These urban wastes contain abundant renewable resources. Their use value is no less than that of the original mineral resources and is called "urban minerals." In some developed countries, the recycling of “urban mineral resources” has become a local pillar industry, and the role of environmental protection, resource conservation, and sustainable development has become increasingly evident.

According to the relevant person in charge of the China Recycling Resource Recycling Association, during the “11th Five-Year Plan” period, China’s total use of “urban mineral resources” has reached 630 million tons. Every recycling of 10,000 tons of renewable resources will save 41,200 tons of natural resources and reduce 60,000 to 100,000 tons of waste.