Plastic straws to be banned by the end of the year, experts say straws and other materials may be used as alternatives
In January this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the control of plastic Pollution, stipulating that the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws will be banned in China's catering industry by the end of 2020. At the same time, from September 1 this year, the newly revised "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste" will also be implemented, and those who fail to comply with the national regulations on prohibiting and restricting the use of non-degradable plastic bags and other disposable plastic products will be fined 10,000 to 100,000 yuan. At present, some stores have printed the packaging of plastic straws with the sign of "reducing the use of straws is more environmentally friendly", and put the tool cylinder of paper straws and plastic straws on the service table at the same time to guide consumers to use.
Data show that in 2019, China's cumulative output of plastic products is 81.84 million tons, of which nearly 30,000 tons of plastic straws, about 46 billion, and the per capita use of more than 30.
Some industry insiders and experts also said that with the breakthrough and innovation of new materials and new technologies, the environmentally friendly replacement of plastic straws is not difficult.
Tsinghua University School of Environment professor Liu Jianguo: Plastic straws can be replaced with biodegradable plastic, we can also use paper or bamboo to do some replacement, including some wheat and other plant straw, you can also use glass, metal such as some can be recycled products to replace it. According to the various consumption scenarios, to choose this alternative product.