Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian and Director of National Development and Reform Commission Zhang Ping together signed an order that "National List of Dangerous Wastes" will come into effect on August 1, 2008, and the original list issued on January 4, 1998 will be abolished at the same time.

According to the order, solid and liquid wastes that have corrosivity, toxicity, ignitability, reactivity or infectivity should be included in the list. Wastes that might have bad effects on human health and environment also should be dealt with as dangerous wastes. Other solid and liquid wastes that are not in the list currently and are later identified as dangerous wastes by experts from environmental protection administrative department will be supplemented in the list.

The order also defines some of the terms such as waste categories which are classified in accordance with "Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal".