*3.1. Study Area*

Fujian Province lies between latitudes 23◦330 and 28◦200 N, and longitudes 115◦500 and 120◦400 E. It is an important economic development province with a land area of 121,400 km<sup>2</sup> located in the southeast coast of China. The total population of Fujian reached 41.54 million in 2020. It had a gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.677 trillion USD in 2020, occupying 4.3% of the whole country (the eighth place of all provinces in China). Over the past 40 years, the economic output of primary industry significantly decreased and the economic output of tertiary industry greatly increased. In 2017, the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries accounted for 6.9%, 47.7%, and 45.4% of the total GDP. The amount of direct urban solid waste reached 73.7 <sup>×</sup> <sup>10</sup><sup>6</sup> Mg in 2017, while the corresponding comprehensive disposal-utilization rate was 66.9%. Compared with 2012, the amount of direct solid waste decreased 23.3% and disposal-utilization rate also decreased 22.7%. The decrease in direct waste production indicated that Fujian made some achievements in urban solid waste production reduction; however, the problem still concerns local managers.
