In the Station Community of Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, volunteers from Jiangsu University and children show the eco-friendly bags they have drawn. Photo by Shi Yucheng/Guangming Pictures

In a food packaging company in Gucheng County, Hebei Province, workers are operating a film blowing machine to make eco-friendly food packaging bags. Xinhua News Agency

[Ecological Focus]

In order to reduce the use of plastic products and strengthen the control of plastic pollution, at the beginning of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control". Compared with the plastic restriction policy issued in 2007, the new "Plastic Restriction Order" takes measures from both administrative and technical aspects to ensure that by 2025, the management system for the production, circulation, consumption and recycling and disposal of plastic products will be basically established, the multi-governance system will be basically formed, the level of development and application of alternative products will be further improved, the amount of plastic waste landfill in key cities will be greatly reduced, and plastic pollution will be effectively controlled. To further implement the new "plastic restriction order", in mid-July, nine departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Notice on Solidly Promoting the Work of Plastic Pollution Control", which detailed the detailed standards for banning and restricting management.

After the new "plastic restriction order" was issued, which disposable plastic products can no longer be used? What can be used as a substitute after the ban? In order to reduce plastic, what should we do? In response to the above issues of public concern, our reporter interviewed experts and scholars in the industry.

What is the impact of the new "plastic restriction order" on daily life?

According to the new "plastic restriction order", by the end of 2020, 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 and various exhibitions and activities, will be prohibited from using non-degradable plastic bags, and the use of non-degradable plastics will be regulated and restricted in collective markets; the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws will be prohibited in the catering industry across China, and non-degradable disposable plastic tableware will be prohibited in catering dine-in services in built-up areas of cities at or above the prefecture level and scenic spots.

"In the future, the area and field of banning and restricting the use of disposable non-degradable plastic products will gradually expand, and hotels will no longer actively provide disposable plastic products." Zhao Kai, vice president and secretary general of the China Circular Economy Association, pointed out. Reporters noted that the new "plastic restriction order" stipulates that by the end of 2022, star-rated hotels and other places in China will no longer actively provide disposable plastic products, and can provide related services by setting up self-service purchasing machines and providing refillable detergents; by the end of 2025, the implementation scope will be expanded to all hotels, hotels, and homestays.

"Plastic products are convenient and practical. In some special periods or specific scenarios, they are irreplaceable. Therefore, the plastic restriction work cannot be carried out in a one-size-fits-all manner regardless of the actual situation. Appropriate exemptions are needed for special circumstances." Zhang Deyuan, deputy director of the Research Department of the Institute of Economic System and Management of the National Development and Reform Commission, emphasized.

In Zhang Deyuan's view, the detailed standards for the ban on disposable plastic cotton swabs fully take into account the special needs of the medical application field and exempt plastic cotton swabs for medical devices; at the same time, taking into account the special needs of the current epidemic prevention and control, flood prevention and disaster relief, the detailed standards stipulate that during the response to major public emergencies such as natural disasters, accidental disasters, public health and social security, disposable plastic products used for emergency support, material distribution, catering services, etc. in specific areas are exempted from ban and restriction, making flexible policy arrangements for special needs in special periods.

What alternatives can be chosen after the ban

Obviously, disposable non-degradable plastic products are the focus of the ban and restriction of the new "plastic restriction order".

"Since the implementation of household waste classification, most of China's plastic waste has been reasonably recycled and disposed of, but even the most closed garbage recycling system will inevitably leak some plastic waste into the natural environment. Therefore, taking the lead in banning and restricting the use of these plastic products that are easy to leak into the natural environment can reduce the increase in plastic products leaking into the environment." Zhao Kai explained.

For disposable plastic products that will be discontinued in some areas and places before the end of 2020, industry enterprises have begun to take positive actions and form a number of practical alternatives.

Take disposable plastic shopping bags as an example. In recent years, with the improvement of public environmental awareness, many consumers have developed the habit of bringing their own shopping bags. In fact, there are many alternatives to plastic shopping bags. For example, many supermarkets provide consumers with non-woven environmentally friendly shopping bags, and beautifully designed and made environmentally friendly shopping bags have even become a shopping fashion.

The reporter visited and found that in order to reduce the use of disposable plastic straws, some catering companies have replaced the "straw + cup lid" combination by transforming the cold drink cup lid with a cup lid with a built-in drinking spout, which has better replaced the role of the straw; alternative products such as degradable plastic straws are also being actively produced and applied. Related products are gradually maturing and can provide strong support for replacing disposable non-degradable plastic straws. In order to reduce the consumption of disposable plastic knives, forks and spoons, many qualified catering companies use reusable tableware in dine-in meals, and some fast food companies are using bamboo and wooden spoons to replace disposable plastic spoons, which has achieved good results.

"Statistical estimates show that in the retail and catering sectors of the relevant regions covered by the phased goals by the end of 2020, the annual consumption of the above-mentioned plastic products is about 300,000 tons. The raw materials for substitutes such as non-woven fabrics, paper, bamboo and wood are sufficient, and the annual supply of degradable plastics is about 400,000 tons. It should be said that the production capacity of substitute products can meet consumer demand." Zhang Lijun, vice president of the China General Chamber of Commerce, pointed out.

Regarding the issue of substitute prices and costs that the public is concerned about, Weng Yunxuan, secretary-general of the Degradable Plastics Professional Committee of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association and dean of the School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering of Beijing Technology and Business University, believes that substitute products are still in the early stages of industrial development, with small and scattered scales, and require a lot of investment in research and development, equipment and testing, so the relatively high cost. "With the gradual advancement of plastic pollution control, I believe that the entire industry will reach a consensus on environmentally friendly materials from production sources to consumer terminals, the market demand and production scale will become larger and larger, the production cost of alternative products will become lower and lower, and the price of related products will become cheaper and cheaper."

Reduce plastic, what should we do

In Zhang Deyuan's view, to do a good job in reducing plastic, not only does the government need to take active action to formulate relevant policy norms and implementation details; it also requires industries and enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities, implement relevant national regulations, and take the path of green development; it also requires the general public to understand, support and participate more, so that they can use less and practice a green lifestyle - "Only in this way can we form a pattern of co-governance and sharing of plastic pollution control by the whole society and ensure that the plastic restriction policy achieves good results."

In order to implement the various goals and tasks proposed by the new "Plastic Restriction Order", industries and enterprises have taken active actions and actively participated in plastic reduction. For example, a well-known fast food chain announced in June this year that it would stop using disposable plastic straws in dine-in and take-out services in nearly 1,000 restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Under the leadership of the industry association, 16 major companies involved in the front-end production, mid-end use and end-of-life disposal of plastic products jointly established a joint working group on the green recycled plastic supply chain to promote important stakeholders to work together to build a green plastic supply chain. Chain supermarkets in some areas have also begun to promote the use of degradable plastic bags and actively optimize the design of product packaging so that consumers can carry them directly... "We have actively carried out policy publicity in conjunction with relevant industry associations and conveyed them to industry enterprises. In the future, we will organize retail, catering and other companies to increase the intensity of publicity of plastic restriction policies to consumers, promote good experiences and practices, and jointly form plastic reduction habits. At the same time, we will organize the catering industry and retail industry to connect with manufacturers of alternative products, screen qualified suppliers, propose product procurement needs, and promote companies to establish a green procurement system. In addition, we will jointly launch an initiative with relevant industry associations to allow more companies in the commercial circulation service industry to fulfill their main responsibilities and consciously carry out plastic reduction actions." Zhang Lijun said.

The implementation of the new "plastic restriction order" depends on the attitude and behavior of ordinary consumers.

"Ordinary consumers should realize that changing unreasonable consumption patterns and reducing plastic pollution is not only the key content of ecological civilization construction, but also the social responsibility of every consumer." To this end, Zhang Lijun suggested that ordinary consumers can use recyclable products in daily consumption, minimize the use of disposable plastic products, and achieve moderate and green consumption - "Only when everyone actively participates, starts with small things around them, and gradually develops new green consumption habits, can we promote better results in plastic pollution control."

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