(Yicai Global) Nov. 2 -- Environmental departments in China are suggesting revising the law to control pollution and manage waste disposal as the nation's stockpiles of industrial solid waste creep slowly toward 70 billion tons.

Government departments submitted a report to the central government yesterday, proposing to modify the law preventing and controlling environmental pollution caused by solid waste. A regulation has been in place for over 20 years but was last amended 13 years ago. In the past half-decade China has ramped up action against pollution and controlled the construction of infrastructure, greatly improving the nation's capacity to utilize and dispose of solid waste, the report said, adding that despite the positives, problems still remain.

Last year, China had 2,149 companies licensed to handle hazardous waste, giving a theoretical utilization and disposal capacity of 64.71 million tons a year and an actual figure around 16.29 million tons, growing nine-fold and 5.5-fold from 2006, respectively.

However, there is a huge accumulated mass of solid waste, and the nation's hazardous waste management system is still imperfect. Some production businesses are not currently under supervision, the report added.