China turns pig waste into power and profit

China is turning pig manure into biogas, fertilizer, and bio-based products to power farms and cut pollution.

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China turns pig waste into power and profit

Farm Jess Ramanee

China’s agricultural bioeconomy is gaining momentum, and pig farming waste has emerged as one of its most valuable raw materials. Each year, the country produces roughly 1.5 billion tons of pig manure. Once a major source of rural pollution, this waste is now increasingly seen as a renewable resource.

Manure is being converted into biogas, organic fertilizers, and bio-based products that support both environmental health and economic growth. This transformation reflects a shift in how agricultural waste is managed and valued.

Policy-driven circular solutions

National policies are guiding this shift. The 14th Five-Year Plan for Bioeconomy Development and the Law on Promoting Circular Economy encourage cleaner, circular production systems. These frameworks support farms and local governments in turning animal waste into productive assets.

Provinces with large pig populations—including Sichuan, Henan, Hunan, and Guangdong—are leading the way. They have integrated manure treatment with renewable energy production, creating models for sustainable rural development.

Closing the nutrient loop

Anaerobic digestion plays a central role in this strategy. In oxygen-free tanks, pig waste is broken down to produce biogas, which can generate electricity, heat, or even vehicle fuel.

The remaining slurry is processed into organic fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that helps rejuvenate croplands. This ‘waste-to-energy-to-soil’ model helps close the nutrient loop, improving soil fertility while reducing reliance on chemical inputs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Beyond energy: Bio-based innovation

Pig manure is also being explored as a feedstock for bio-based materials. These include biodegradable plastics and soil-conditioning agents, which offer sustainable alternatives to fossil-based raw materials.

The biogas long game

Government incentives have helped scale up adoption. In several provinces, farms can receive subsidies of up to USD 1.29 million for installing biogas systems and waste treatment facilities.

Many rural cooperatives have built small-scale biogas plants that supply electricity to villages, lower household energy costs, and reduce methane emissions from open lagoons.

A cleaner, stronger swine sector

These efforts are reshaping the environmental footprint of China’s pig industry — the largest in the world. By linking agricultural modernization with renewable energy and soil restoration, China is turning a former waste problem into a cornerstone of rural revitalization.

The country’s approach demonstrates how circular management of pig waste can support cleaner environments, stronger farm economies, and a more sustainable future for global livestock production.