China To Ban All Single-Use Plastic by End of 2020
China, the biggest producer of plastic in the world, is all set to ban disposable plastic items starting this year. The government ruled out regulations on Sunday to ban plastic bags and straws in major Chinese cities by the end of 2020 and across the country by 2022.
Plastic is convenient, durable, cheap and most importantly mass produced. It’s no surprise then that Chinese consumers rely heavily on plastic bags, cutlery and containers. But now, metropolitan cities in China, the most populated country in the world, are plagued by plastic.
The problem is inevitable and although initiatives had been introduced in the past, none have produced desirable results.
China on Sunday announced that it would ban imports of waste plastics and prohibit and restrict the production, sale, and usage of some plastic products by the end of 2020 and significantly reduce the consumption of single-use plastics and promote alternatives by the end of 2022. pic.twitter.com/08WPq8jFqe
— Modern China (@PDChinaBusiness) January 19, 2020
“Consumption of plastic products, especially single-use items, has been consistently rising,” said an explanation accompanying the new guidelines, which were released on Sunday by the environment ministry and China’s chief industrial planning agency. “There needs to be stronger comprehensive planning and a systematic rollout to clean up plastic pollution.”
From production to management, plastic is one of the most dangerous man-made products. Firstly, plastic is made of fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and even coal. The chemical plants required to convert the raw materials into plastic emit high levels of pollutant in the air and are usually found in low-income neighborhoods. Chemical additives from plastic can enter our bodies through food. In fact, the average person eats 70,000 microplastic each year.
But the problem is not just limited above ground; it runs deeper into the oceans. In 2018, the country saw an average of 52 pounds (24 kgs) of floating plastic waste per 1,000 square metres of surface seawater. Plastic is also responsible for killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and animals each year by entering their digestive tracts or entangling and choking them to death.
Significant measures in China can significantly affect the whole world. The entire plan is three phase: Other sources of plastic waste will be banned in Beijing, Shanghai and wealthy coastal provinces by the end of 2022, and that rule will be extended nationwide by late 2025.
Environmental activists welcomed the move but said that stricter measures are needed given the severity of plastic pollution. It’s also unclear how large e-commerce companies are going to adapt.
“Food delivery and e-commerce ballooned China’s dependence on single-use plastics and a general throwaway culture,” Tang Damin, a campaigner in Beijing for Greenpeace East Asia, told the NYTimes.
“It is time for Alibaba, JD.com and Meituan to stop shying away from their role in the plastics crisis.”