Nonbiodegradable plastic banning rolls off across provinces
2020-12-24
A man rides past a poster introducing nonbiodegradable plastic products in Hainan University, Hainan province, on Nov 30, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
South China's Hainan province has made a bold move to ban the use, sale and production of single-use nonbiodegradable plastic products on Dec 1, making it the nation's first to implement the strictest rules to curb plastic and promote green living.
The first batch of items banned includes single-use plastic shopping bags, bowls and cups for takeout, drinking straws, forks and other products made from nonbiodegradable polymers.
Other regions in China have also enhanced control on the use and production of plastic products. For example, Shanghai will ban supermarkets from offering plastic bags to customers starting from Jan 1, 2021.
Responding to the changes in green lifestyles, plastic companies are developing new products based on degradable materials, such as starch, bamboo and paper pulp.
Biodegradable plastic shopping bags are sold in a supermarket in Haikou, Hainan province, on Dec 9, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
Biodegradable meal boxes, bowls and drink cups shown in a packaging company in Hainan province, on Nov 2, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
A cashier shows a biodegradable shopping bag in a supermarket in Haikou, Hainan province, on Dec 5, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
Meal boxes, packages and plates made from paper pulp are on display in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Sept 24, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
A McDonald's restaurant in Zhengzhou, Henan province, begins to stops offering plastic straws on Dec 12, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
Biodegradable trash bags are sold in a supermarket in Haikou, Hainan province, on Dec 9, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
Straws, forks and spoons made from paper pulp are on display in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Sept 24, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
A biodegradable plastic bag is used at a vegetable market in Sanya, Hainan province, on Dec 1, 2020. [Photo by ShaXiaofeng/for China Daily]
Lou Zhongping, the CEO of Yiwu Soton Daily Necessities Co Ltd, introduces the company's newly developed products - degradable straws - to customers on Dec 22, 2020. [Photo/VCG]
