December 24, 2020
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China’s vow to clean up the country by reducing plastic waste in 2021 is moving full steam ahead, with more local governments joining the campaign last week.
Announcing its action plan, Chengdu, a city of 16.3 million people and the capital of Sichuan province, said it would ban the use of plastic straws in restaurants, cafés and tea houses. It has also called on supermarkets and shops to stop using non-biodegradable plastic bags from next year.
In the Guangdong capital Guangzhou, similar orders were issued, with disposable plastic tableware – including containers and utensils - added to the list of banned items.
Biodegradables will not solve China’s plastics crisis
Beijing, China – Increased production of biodegradable plastics will not solve China’s plastics pollution crisis, a new report from Greenpeace East Asia shows. If the rush to produce biodegradable plastics continues, China’s e-commerce industry is on track to generate an estimated 5 million tonnes of biodegradable plastic waste per year by 2025 [1], the report reveals.
“Switching from one type of plastic to another cannot solve the plastics pollution crisis that we’re facing,” said Greenpeace East Asia plastics researcher Dr. Molly Zhongnan Jia. “Many biodegradable plastics require specific temperature and humidity conditions to break down, which are not found in nature. In the absence of controlled composting facilities, most biodegradable plastics end up in landfills, or worse, in rivers and the ocean.”