Coupling coordination degree of industrial solid waste prevention and treatment efficiencies and its driving factors in China

Both prevention and treatment are crucial for reducing industrial solid waste (ISW). The primary objective of this study is to explore the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of China's provincial ISW prevention and treatment from the perspective of efficiency analysis during 2011-2020 and then investigate its driving factors in three steps. The first step is to develop a base point network slacks-based measure data envelopment analysis model to address the issue where the indicators (ISW discharged, ISW stored) of some regions are zero during the evaluation of the ISW prevention and treatment efficiencies. Secondly, the CCD model is constructed to investigate the CCD of ISW prevention and treatment efficiencies. Finally, the driving factors of the CCD are explored using the spatial Tobit model. The results show that: (1) In 76.67% of regions, the prevention efficiency is higher than treatment efficiency, and in 23.33% of regions, the treatment efficiency is higher than prevention efficiency. The prevention efficiency of the entire country exhibits a steady downward trend, while the treatment efficiency, on the whole, is increasing. (2) The regions with high coordination are mainly situated in the east, those with moderate coordination are primarily located in the central region, and those with basic coordination are mostly located in the west. Only three regions (Jiangxi, Guangxi, Shaanxi) exhibit moderate imbalance. (3) The improvement of CCD mainly depends on industrial servitization and industrial structure, while property structure, ISW treatment investment intensity, and traffic infrastructure construction significantly impede the increase of the CCD.