A new regulation that aims to stimulate the recycled use of coal ash, the main waste product of coal burning, will take effect on Friday.

China has witnessed continuous growth in disposal of coal ash, the solid waste generated by burning coal. Its annual output of the material is expected to jump from the 480 million tonnes in 2010 to 570 million in 2015, posing environmental threats.

The regulation encourages the application of coal ash in producing wall materials, cement and concrete. Alumina extraction from high-aluminum coal ash is also suggested.

Relevant government departments will subsidize the research and study of integrated use of coal ash, according to the new rules.

Based on a previous management code created in 1994, the new regulation was revised by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Finance and seven other ministerial organizations.

It is the latest effort to promote the recycling of coal ash in China, the largest coal consumer in the world.

Figures show that the country's integrated utilization rate of coal ash rose from 35 percent in 1994 to 68 percent in 2011, surpassing that of many developed countries.