BEIJING - ?China, the country with the world's fastest rate of urbanization, creates hundreds of millions tones of construction waste annually.

Meanwhile, little waste is being recycled, adding pressure to Chinese cities already dealing with seven billion tonnes of garbage.

China produces over 300 million tones of construction waste every year, but less than 5 percent is recycled, while Japan and the Republic of Korea recycle over 95 percent of their construction waste, according to authorities.

Industry insiders said China has mastered technologies to recycle construction waste, but the recycling industry remains immature due to a lack of resources. Only about 10 companies recycle construction waste nationwide, and some struggle to maintain business.

Beijing Yuantaida Construction Material Company has the capacity to recycle over one million tonnes of construction waste annually, but only 200,000 tones of construction waste could be collected, said Wu Jianmin, the company's general manager.

Recycling costs increased as the company had to find and transport construction waste on its own, making prices of recycled materials less competitive, Wu said.

China has no regulation guaranteeing the supply of construction waste nor economic subsidies for companies that recycle construction waste, Wu added.

Experts have suggested that the government should offer preferential tax policies and subsidies to the industry considering so little construction waste is recycled.

City governments of Beijing, Shenzhen and Qingdao have worked out support policies for the recycling of construction waste.