Xinhua News Agency, Guangzhou, September 3Title: The consumption of farmers' markets rebounded, and the consumption of take-out fresh food increased greatly--Can the upgraded "plastic restriction order" control small plastic bags?

Xinhua News Agency "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Zhou Ying, Guan Guifeng, Huang Yao

In the farmers' market, there are piles of plastic bags hanging in front of each stall, a few garlic heads in a bag, a bunch of cabbage in a bag, and it is common to use more than ten plastic bags after buying vegetables; when buying vegetables on the fresh food e-commerce platform, all kinds of vegetables are tightly wrapped in plastic nets, plastic wrap, plastic boxes, etc.

From September 1, the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste" was officially implemented. The new solid waste law clearly states that the prevention and control of environmental pollution by solid waste adheres to the principles of reduction, resource utilization and harmlessness. Various places have also recently launched new versions of the "plastic restriction order".

Xinhua Viewpoint reporter found that since the implementation of the "plastic restriction order" on June 1, 2008, the use of non-degradable plastic bags has decreased for a period of time. However, in the past one or two years, the use of disposable plastic bags has rebounded in some farmers' markets. At the same time, take-out and fresh food e-commerce have become major users of plastic products.

Farmers' markets are still the "hardest hit areas" for use, and fresh food e-commerce uses a large amount of plastic products

The reporter found through on-site visits that after years of rectification, the "plastic restriction" situation in large supermarkets has improved slightly, but farmers' markets are still the "hardest hit areas".

At present, in order to reduce consumers' use of plastic bags, large supermarkets in various places have almost all implemented paid use of plastic bags, with prices ranging from 20 to 30 cents to 70 to 80 cents, but there are still many consumers who choose to pay for them. "Convenience" and "a few cents can be ignored" are the reasons why many people continue to buy plastic bags.

In addition, supermarket staff told reporters that due to the need to weigh bulk goods, hand-torn plastic bags have become a rigid demand, and since they are free, the usage is particularly large.

In some farmers' markets, vegetable stores and fruit stores, free plastic bags are still in large quantities. On the morning of September 2, a meat and vegetable market in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou was very busy. Ms. Liu, who lives nearby, carried a bag of tomatoes and a bag of carrots in her left hand, and three plastic bags in her right hand, which were filled with Chinese cabbage, pork, corn cobs, and a large plastic bag. After purchasing, she had used up six plastic bags.

A customer pushed a shopping cart full of vegetables. Each type of vegetable was packed in a plastic bag. A rough count showed that there were nearly 20 plastic bags.

A vegetable stall owner said that if we don't use plastic bags, we don't know what to use instead. Now we can use up a snakeskin bag of film plastic bags in a month, and we don't know how many there are. "It is free for customers. Just put the things in plastic bags, weigh them, and take them away. It is convenient and time-saving. If there is no plastic bag or if there is a charge, customers may go to other stores."

As more and more people buy vegetables and fruits on fresh food e-commerce platforms, the use of plastic products is even more shocking. The reporter ordered 4 kinds of fruits on a fresh food e-commerce platform. In addition to a large plastic bag, each fruit was packaged separately with plastic film, plastic boxes, and plastic bags.

Ms. Wang from Beijing said: "Fresh food e-commerce platforms are convenient, but there are too many plastic products produced by packaging." She gave an example, saying that a tomato is first wrapped in a net cover, then wrapped in thick plastic wrap, and then placed in a plastic box, and finally wrapped in several layers of thick plastic wrap. "Some platforms even use such packaging for vegetables that are not easily damaged, such as zucchini and cucumbers."

In addition, take-out and express delivery are becoming more and more major users of plastic products. The reporter found that some large brand catering companies have gradually replaced them with degradable lunch boxes, but more catering companies are still using ordinary plastic lunch boxes.

At a small noodle restaurant in downtown Guangzhou, staff said that every working day, they have to pack about a hundred plastic lunch boxes and use the same number of plastic bags.

Public data shows that the daily order volume of the three major food delivery platforms is more than 20 million. Calculated as one plastic bag per order, the annual use of plastic bags exceeds 7 billion.

What is so difficult about controlling small plastic bags?

Why are plastic products being used more and more after 12 years of "plastic restriction"? Relevant experts and industry insiders believe that the high price of substitutes is a major reason.

What to use if plastic bags are not allowed? Biodegradable materials are considered a powerful tool to solve plastic pollution. However, the reporter's investigation found that due to the influence of market size and other factors, the current cost is still relatively high. Wang Wang, executive vice president of the Plastic Recycling Branch of the China Synthetic Resin Association, said: "There is currently a lack of convenient and cheap alternatives to disposable plastic products."

According to Zhang Qiuhan, chairman of Zhuhai Wantong Chemical Co., Ltd., the company has an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons of biodegradable polyester synthesis and supporting modified special materials. Currently, 80% are sold overseas and 20% are sold in the Chinese market. "Compared with seven or eight years ago, the price of fully biodegradable plastic products on the market has dropped significantly, but its current cost is still about twice as expensive as ordinary PE plastics. In the absence of mandatory requirements for the use of degradable plastics in China before, the market still tends to choose cheaper PE plastics."

It is understood that the price of degradable plastic bags is two or three times that of ordinary plastic bags, and the price will double when it reaches the consumption site.

In addition, the current ban on the use of degradable plastic bags is also one of the reasons why it is difficult to promote them. Some merchants reported that the texture of degradable plastic bags is too soft, and the use experience is far inferior to that of ordinary plastic bags.

Industry insiders believe that another reason why the "plastic restriction order" is difficult to implement is that it is difficult to enforce, and corresponding law enforcement support is needed. If there is no strict law enforcement, and there is a lack of effective measures to deal with some businesses that violate the rules by using ultra-thin plastic bags, then the paid use of plastic bags will only increase the income of the businesses.

Can the new "plastic ban" issued in many places control plastic bags?

In January this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control", which clearly stated that by 2020, the production, sale and use of some plastic products will be banned and restricted in some regions and fields. By the end of 2020, the catering industry in China will ban the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws; shopping malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores and other places in the built-up areas of municipalities, provincial capitals, and cities with independent planning status, as well as catering take-out services, will be prohibited from using non-degradable plastic bags.

According to incomplete statistics, more than 20 provinces in China have successively issued new "plastic bans". In addition to banning and restricting the use of plastic products, various places have also proposed to accelerate the promotion of the application of alternative products and models.

Liu Jianguo, a professor at the School of Environment at Tsinghua University, analyzed that in recent years, the trend of new and old problems of plastic pollution has been obvious. Offline scenes such as farmers' markets still use a large number of plastic bags. At the same time, plastic products produced by new formats such as express delivery and takeout have shown an explosive growth trend. The new situation calls for new ideas and means for plastic pollution control.

The reporter found that in addition to the reduction requirements, the new version of the "Plastic Restriction Order" also made arrangements in terms of design, production and manufacturing, circulation, consumption, recycling, and regeneration.

Industry insiders said that the causes of plastic pollution are complex, and related governance cannot be achieved overnight. There is a long way to go to promote the "plastic restriction" to achieve practical results.

Liu Jianguo, Wang Wang and others believe that the first thing to do is to increase law enforcement efforts and promote the implementation of policies.

In addition, in addition to plastic packaging manufacturers, food delivery, express delivery platforms and product sellers are all stakeholders. These production, circulation, sales companies and platforms should also assume corresponding responsibilities. It is recommended to further clarify and consolidate the responsibilities of relevant stakeholders to encourage these companies to reduce excessive packaging and actively use recyclable packaging products and logistics distribution equipment.

It is necessary to establish consumer constraints and incentives. Wang Wang believes that consumers should be encouraged to reuse plastic bags and use environmentally friendly shopping bags as much as possible.

Some experts also suggest advocating "green living" through positive incentives. For example, merchants can encourage consumers to bring their own cups for drinks through points and exchanges, so as to reduce environmental pollution caused by disposable plastic cups and plastic straws.

Plastic Industry Video