Nordic Tech in 40+ China Megaprojects: Kincin Ships Kitchen-Waste Collect-and-Treat Package Overseas

In China, the market demand for food waste treatment has benefited from the advancement of urbanization and the improvement of residents' living standards. Since 2012, the catering industry in our country has achieved rapid development; as of 2024, the retail sales of the catering industry have reached 5.57 trillion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate as high as 7.48%. The rapid development of the catering industry has further increased the amount of food waste generated.

The statistics of food waste generation should be based on the total amount of Kitchen Waste generated by catering units. By 2025, the annual output of kitchen waste in China had exceeded 120 million tons, and it is growing at an annual rate of 8%. The disposal fees in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are as high as 200-400 yuan per ton, and second- and third-tier cities are accelerating their follow-up.

According to the National Population Development Plan (2016-2030), it is projected that by 2030, the total population of the country will reach approximately 1.45 billion, and the urbanization rate of permanent residents will increase to 70%. The improvement of urbanization level will further drive the growth of food waste generation. Meanwhile, with the continuous advancement of relevant policies such as waste classification, Circular Economy, and "Carbon neutrality", the management of food waste has become increasingly strict across the country, the volume of compliant collection and transportation has increased significantly, and the demand for end-point food waste disposal has continued to rise.

Against the backdrop of strengthened regulatory efforts and accelerated improvement of the collection and transportation system, the standardization process of kitchen Waste Collection and transportation management will significantly accelerate during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. It is estimated that by 2026, the market-based compliance collection and treatment rate within urban areas is expected to increase to around 55%. With the growth of food waste treatment volume and the improvement of compliance collection rate, the food waste treatment capacity in our country will maintain a steady upward trend, and the market demand for complete sets of food waste treatment equipment will also gradually be released.

As urban organic solid waste, the harmless treatment of food waste is one of the important aspects of urban management, and the separate collection, transportation, and resource utilization of food waste are also an inevitable requirement for improving the urban living environment at present.

Compared with the construction of end-point treatment facilities for kitchen waste, the construction and management of its front-end collection and transportation system have never received equal respect and attention. Practices of kitchen waste treatment projects in operation across the country have shown that the collection and transportation system for kitchen waste is imperfect, with phenomena such as spillage and mixed loading occurring during the collection and transportation process, which not only causes environmental pollution problems but also disrupts the normal operation of subsequent disposal equipment.

Food waste collection, transportation, and treatment models: First, a separate collection and transportation system and treatment system, with the two parts split for different entities to construct and operate; second, the integrated "collection, transportation, and treatment" operation model, which has clearer responsibility boundaries, more explicit management requirements, and is easier to coordinate in aspects such as material quality and material reception, so it is becoming increasingly common.

Kincin Environment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Kintep Environmental Protection Joint Stock Company, as a national high-tech enterprise, focuses on pneumatic logistics systems and the recycling and zero-emission technologies for organic waste such as food waste.

The pneumatic logistics system originating from Nordic technology, as a separate collection and transportation system for food waste collection and transportation, achieves odorless, leak-free, and cross-infection-free transportation through a closed pipeline collection process, significantly reducing labor and internal waste collection and transportation costs. The complete food waste recycling and zero-emission system, on the other hand, is an integrated "collection, transportation, and treatment" operation model that not only makes the collection process safer, cleaner, and more cost-effective but also reduces waste volume by up to 80%. Food waste can be transformed into "organic nutrient soil" through resource utilization.

Both of Kincin's above two system products already have a wide range of application scenarios: urban complexes, interstellar hotels, commercial centers, community farmers' markets, chain catering enterprises, school canteens, central kitchens, airline catering processing centers, and large unit canteens, etc. Among them, the pneumatic logistics system originating from Nordic technology has covered over 20 large hospitals in China, while the "integrated collection and transportation" food waste recycling and zero-emission system has also covered nearly 20 large commercial complexes in China. Taking the waste and food waste system of Shanghai International Financial Center, which began operation in 2020, as an example, it uses two sets of independent system equipment to separately collect household waste and food waste generated in the three towers and ancillary facilities, with a daily processing capacity of 5,000 units of waste.

From Shanghai’s IFC to 20-plus AAA hospitals, Kincin has proved that sealed pneumatic transport plus 80 %-volume-reduction composting cuts OPEX, odour and CO₂ in one stroke. If you are developing a net-zero hospital, shopping-mall-cum-office skyscraper or airport city overseas and want the same Scandinavian-grade hygiene with Asian-speed delivery, talk to us！