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Plastic ban in china hainan
Recently, the Hainan Press Office held a press conference to interpret the "Implementation Plan for Hainan Province to Prohibit the Production, Sales and Use of Disposable Non-degradable Plastic Products" and announced that Hainan will gradually promote a comprehensive ban on plastics by category starting this year.
The "plastic restriction" that has been implemented for more than ten years is upgraded to the "plastic ban"
In April 2018, the "Guiding Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Supporting Hainan's Comprehensive Deepening of Reform and Opening-up" was released, confirming that one of Hainan's strategic positioning is a "national ecological civilization experimental zone." This important guidance proposes that it is necessary to "completely prohibit the production, sale and use of disposable non-degradable plastic bags and plastic tableware in Hainan, and accelerate the promotion of green packaging applications in the express delivery industry."
Since 2008, my country has implemented a "plastic restriction" nationwide to restrict the production and sales of plastic shopping bags. In accordance with the requirements of the regulations, Hainan implemented the "Regulations on Restricting the Production, Transportation, Sales, and Storage of Disposable Plastic Products in the Hainan Special Economic Zone" in October 2008, and the island has entered the "plastic limit" stage.
However, after the "plastic limit" in Hainan, the use of disposable plastic products such as plastic bags is still high. According to statistics, Hainan Province uses about 120,000 tons of disposable non-degradable plastic products each year, of which about 65,000 tons are produced in the province. The large supermarkets on the island sell plastic bags at a price of 1 to 5 cents. Consumers buy and use plastic bags in large quantities for convenience and convenience. In the farmers' market, vendors compete and attract customers and directly provide free plastic bags.
What changes have been brought about by upgrading the "plastic restriction order" to the "plastic ban order"?
Deng Xiaogang, director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, introduced that since the implementation of the relevant regulations of the General Office of the State Council in 2008, all provinces have basically "limited plastic", that is, try to take some economic measures and measures to limit the use of plastic bags, such as Payment system, through the payment method to limit and reduce the use of plastic bags. This time Hainan emphasized the prohibition. The easy first is the difficult. First, the production, sale and use of disposable non-degradable plastic bags and plastic tableware listed in the list are prohibited.
Hainan will revise and improve local laws and regulations, formulate, promulgate and dynamically update the "List of Prohibited Production, Sales and Use of Disposable Non-degradable Plastic Products in Hainan Province (Trial)", and dynamically update it in light of the province's conditions and development needs. According to reports, the first list will be released before the end of this year.
"Plastic ban" How to meet the needs of shopping and packaging?
In many places such as Hainan, among the disposable non-degradable plastic products such as plastic bags, plastic tableware, and mulch, plastic bags are used the most, which are closely related to people's daily life. Many people are concerned: How can people's shopping and packaging needs be met after disposable non-degradable plastic bags are banned?
After the "plastic restriction regulation" was implemented, a large number of non-woven bags appeared on the market, but they were a little troublesome to carry and there were fewer users. Environmentally-friendly, degradable plastic bags are expensive, which is a pain point in the implementation of the "plastic restriction order". According to the current market conditions, the cost of biodegradable plastic bags is 2 to 3 times that of traditional plastic bags.
In this regard, the "Plan" proposes that Hainan will establish a fully biodegradable plastics industry demonstration base, organize the formulation of industrial development plans, introduce advanced enterprises and cooperate with local enterprises to form the island’s disposable fully biodegradable plastic products production capacity and cultivate a good industry And the market environment, to ensure the smooth implementation of the replacement production and the ban on plastic products with one-off biodegradable plastic products.
"Currently, there is no national standard for fully biodegradable products, and there are no relevant standards in other provinces. Therefore, Hainan must innovate and be the first truly fully biodegradable local standard." Deng Xiaogang said.
Deng Xiaogang said that as the fully biodegradable plastics industry expands and the supply increases, its cost will drop accordingly.
For the disposable plastic standard packaging materials such as beverage bottles and shampoo bottles that cannot be replaced in the short term, Hainan Province is also daring to try this time. In the "Plan", it proposes to implement the extended producer responsibility system and adopt the internationally implemented deposit recovery system. Build a recycling system for recycling and improve the efficiency of resource recycling. Through the deposit refund method, we will guide and drive the recycling of disposable plastic standard packaging, and strive to solve the problem of the "last mile" of the recycling system. This is the most advanced international policy and measures for environmental protection and resource utilization.
When will the "plastic ban" come into effect?
Hainan has clarified a timetable for the implementation of the "ban on plastics":
Before the end of 2019, establish and improve the province's local regulations and standard systems that prohibit the production, sale and use of disposable non-degradable plastic products, improve the supervision and law enforcement system, and form the supply capacity of alternative products;
Before the end of 2020, the province will completely prohibit the production, sale and use of disposable non-degradable plastic bags and plastic tableware;
Before the end of 2025, the entire province will completely prohibit the production, sale and use of plastic products listed in the "List of Prohibited Prohibitions on the Production and Sale of Disposable Non-degradable Plastic Products in Hainan Province (Trial)".
In the future, Hainan is expected to become the first province in the country that truly "bans plastics" and effectively prevents "white pollution", exploring new experiences for promoting the construction of national ecological civilization.
Inventory of plastic bans in countries around the world in 2018
Europe
Plastic ban! The European Parliament passes a plastic ban, banning single-use plastic products after 2021
Science and Technology Daily, Berlin, October 24. The European Parliament voted on the 24th to approve the ban on the use of single-use plastic products from 2021 in order to curb the increasing pollution of the ocean and the ecological environment by plastic waste.
According to the proposal, from 2021, the EU will ban the production and sale of disposable tableware, cotton swabs, straws and other disposable plastic products. These products will be replaced by paper, straw or reusable hard plastic. Plastic bottles will be collected separately according to the existing recycling model; by 2025, the recycling rate of single-use plastic bottles in member states is required to reach 90%.
new Zealand
Violators can be fined 100,000! New Zealand history is the most strictly prohibited plastic order
People's Daily Online, Sydney, August 10 According to the Australian newspaper, the New Zealand government announced on the 10th that it will ban disposable plastic shopping bags next year.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Minister of the Environment Eugenie Saatchi said that retailers will have at least 6 months from now to gradually stop providing light plastic bags. The related proposal believes that the fine for violation of the regulations should be increased to 100,000 New Zealand dollars, or about 450,000 yuan.
Chile
On August 3, Chile formally promulgated the "Plastic Ban Law", prohibiting all supermarkets and shops across the country from providing plastic bags to customers. Chile has thus become the first country in Latin America to ban merchants from providing plastic bags to shoppers.
The “Plastic Prohibition Law” stipulates that from February 3, 2019, all large supermarkets and shopping malls will no longer provide free or charged plastic bags to shoppers, and each illegally provided plastic bag will be fined up to US$370; August 2020 From the 3rd, Chile will "ban plastics."
France
On July 12, the French “Europe Times” reported that a resolution passed by the Paris City Council recently stipulated that from September, major municipal institutions such as schools, nursing homes, stadiums and museums will gradually ban the use of plastics. straw.
France has banned disposable plastic bags with a thickness of less than 50 microns since 2016.
In addition, the French government will begin to completely ban pure plastic disposable tableware in 2020, replacing it with degradable bags and compostable bags.
Australia
From July 1, Queensland, Australia and Western Australia ban retailers from providing disposable ultra-thin plastic bags to customers. Since then, only New South Wales in the eight administrative regions of Australia has not implemented a plastic ban.
According to Queensland regulations, retailers who violate the regulations to provide disposable ultra-thin plastic bags with a thickness of no more than 35 microns may face a hefty fine of up to AUD 6,300 (equivalent to RMB 30,000).
Woolworth, Australia’s largest supermarket chain, has ceased to provide customers with disposable plastic bags in 1,000 stores across the country from June 20. Customers need to bring their own shopping bags or purchase recyclable plastic bags.
India
On June 5, World Environment Day, the Prime Minister of India announced that it plans to eliminate all single-use plastic products by 2022.
The “plastic restriction order” of Maharashtra, India’s second most populous state, came into effect on June 23.
CNN stated that after the plastic restriction order took effect, inspectors began to frequently appear on the streets of cities, relentlessly issuing fines to businesses that violate the regulations. On June 24, more than 80 merchants were fined in Mumbai, the capital of the state, with a fine of 400,000 rupees.
Canada
In May, the Vancouver City Council voted to approve the "Zero Waste 2040 Strategy" (Zero Waste 2040 Strategy). Starting June 1, 2019, city businesses are prohibited from distributing disposable plastic straws, foam cups and packed lunch boxes to customers.
Vancouver has thus become the first city in the world to formally set a "zero waste" target and corresponding plans.
Korea
South Korea will implement the "Comprehensive Plastic Ban" for large supermarkets in 2019
Xinhua News Agency, Seoul, December 31 (Reporter He Yuan Zhang Yan) The Ministry of Environment of South Korea confirmed on December 31 that large Korean supermarkets will completely ban the use of disposable plastic bags from 2019 to further reduce "white pollution."
The Ministry of Environment of South Korea issued a statement on its official website stating that, according to the "Law on Saving Resources and Promoting Resource Recycling", since January 1, 2019, more than 2,000 hypermarkets and 11,000 stores in South Korea have an area of over 165 square meters. Supermarkets will completely ban disposable plastic bags.
In addition to plastic bags for fish and meat, related hypermarkets and supermarkets can only provide customers with environmentally friendly shopping bags, paper shopping bags, recyclable containers and other items. If it is found to use disposable plastic bags, the merchant will be fined up to 3 million won (approximately US$2,700). Previously, South Korean laws stipulated that hypermarkets and supermarkets were not allowed to provide disposable plastic bags for free.
United Kingdom
In January, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that it would spare no effort to ban plastics. In addition to levying taxes and fees on various plastic products and increasing the research and development of replaceable materials, it also plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Including plastic bags, beverage bottles, straws and most food packaging bags.
In addition to the government, the Queen of England also expressed her strong determination to ban plastics. She wants to completely ban the use of plastic straws and plastic bottles on all royal sites.
