BEIJING, Aug 18, 2011 (Dow Jones Commodities News Select via Comtex) -- China will shut down lead recycling plants with less than 30,000 metric tons of annual output capacity by the end of 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a draft policy statement Thursday.

The move is part of wide-ranging government efforts to consolidate the polluting industry and tighten controls over the production and recycling of lead-acid batteries. Recycled lead producers depend on lead-acid batteries as an input.

New recycling plants must have 50,000 tons or more in annual production capacity, and existing plants must have at least 30,000 tons, the ministry said.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Environmental Protection ordered 583 lead-acid battery makers nationwide to be shut down, following a crackdown that covered 1,930 producers.

In May, the government forced 273 polluting battery plants in top-producing Zhejiang province to close over environmental and health concerns.