China will ban or restrict single-use plastics in three stages over the next five years, including non-degradable plastic bags, plastic tableware, and express delivery plastic packaging.
The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued a joint instruction detailing the transition plan, which bans the production and sale of a number of products such as plastic bags with a thickness of less than 0.025mm and polyethylene agricultural mulch with a thickness of less than 0.01mm.
Under the scheme, non-degradable plastic bags will be prohibited in key cities, with the scope of implementation expanding in 2022 and 2025. Disposable plastic straws will be banned in the catering industry across China, and disposable plastic tableware in key cities, at the end of 2020; this will further expand in 2022. Additionally, production and sale of disposable foam plastic tableware, plastic cotton swabs, and daily chemical products with plastic microbeads will be phased out by the end of this year.
According to John Richardson, senior consultant, Asia at the commodity market intelligence provider ICIS, the implications for virgin PE polymers demand in China, and for the amount of that demand met by recycled production, are likely to be significant.
“China’s polymers or plastics demand is by volume is the biggest in the world, and its growth in demand is also the largest. China is the biggest polymer import market in the world, especially for polyethylene, around half of the demand for which is in single-use plastics. So, whatever happens in China is a big deal for the global polymers business,” he said,
Richardson says that China has been taking its plastic rubbish crisis seriously for around two years.
“The first indication of this were the heavy restrictions it placed on imported, unsorted and uncleaned plastics that came into effect from January 2018. China was the dumping ground for plastic waste from the West. It introduced the restrictions to better protect the health of recycling workers.
“Subsequently, there were indications that China would start tackling its local plastic rubbish problem through introducing bans on single-use plastic that had little societal value and modernising a pretty disorganised and inefficient local recycling sector,” he said.
Other changes under the plan will include phasing out disposable plastic items for hotels, and banning express plastic delivery packaging such as disposable plastic bags and woven bags as well as reducing use of plastic tape.
