31 provinces have issued plastic pollution control related implementation plan or action plan

31 provinces have issued implementation plans or action plans related to plastic pollution control--
"Plastic Ban" Landing, Are You Ready

With the "plastic ban" officially landed, all over the country, supermarkets, takeout and other plastic use "big" have begun to introduce plastic reduction measures and transitional measures. Experts said that plastic pollution control involves all aspects, and the recycling and disposal of degradable plastic bags must have corresponding supporting systems, and a certain amount of time is needed to adapt. Key categories and key places should be grasped first, and certain experience should be formed and then gradually promoted. Order to promote plastic pollution control.

At the beginning of 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution, which is divided into three time periods in 2020, 2022 and 2025, and clearly defines the task objectives of strengthening the control of plastic pollution in stages. By 2020, take the lead in banning and restricting the production, sale and use of some plastic products in some regions and some fields. The newly revised solid waste law, which came into effect on September 1, 2020, also strengthens the requirements related to plastic pollution control and clarifies the legal responsibility for related violations.

Since January 1 this year, the "plastic ban" has landed. Are all parties ready?

Shang Chao switched to degradable plastic bags

The reporter combed and found that 31 provinces have issued plastic pollution control related implementation plans or action plans. In Beijing, for example, the Beijing Plastic Pollution Control Action Plan (2020-2025) focuses on six key industries, namely, catering, takeaway platforms, wholesale and retail, e-commerce express delivery, accommodation and exhibition, and agricultural production, to strengthen plastic reduction. Among them, for the catering industry, it is required that by the end of 2020, the city's catering industry will prohibit the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws, the built-up area takeout (including hall food packaging) services will prohibit the use of non-degradable plastic bags, and the built-up area and scenic spot hall food services will prohibit the use of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware.

"Starting from January 1, 2021, all shopping bags sold in our supermarket are degradable shopping bags, one large bag for 1.2 yuan and one small size bag for 60 cents. Please buy them at the cashier if necessary." On January 5, the reporter came to Meilianmei Supermarket, Ande Road, Xicheng District, Beijing. The supermarket radio was scrolling with relevant tips. Degradable plastic bags are placed at the supermarket checkout counter and self-service code scanning checkout area, and the price is marked. Among the more than 30 customers who checked out, most of them used their own non-woven shopping bags, and some customers pushed the goods to the supermarket exit and loaded them into shopping trailers.

"In recent years, many customers have become accustomed to using recyclable shopping bags." The relevant person in charge of Wumart Group told reporters that at present, all Wumart Group's stores and delivery in Beijing and Tianjin have been replaced with degradable plastic bags. Judging from the implementation in recent days, the sales volume of charged plastic bags has declined compared with the past, but it is not obvious.

The reporter saw at the Wal-Mart supermarket near Xuanwumen in Beijing that the cashier and self-service cashier were also equipped with degradable shopping bags. There are also eye-catching slogans in front of the cashier, calling on customers to take environmental protection bags and do "plastic reduction" action.

It is worth noting that the field of food and beverage takeaway is also promoting plastic limit. The person in charge of Meituan takeout said that Meituan will give full play to the advantages of connecting merchants and users, integrate industry resources, and jointly promote the environmental protection development of the industry with upstream and downstream industries. In terms of packaging reduction, in addition to the online "no tableware" option, Meituan takeout has set up ordinary plastic packing bags and straws under the merchant service market, set up a special environmental protection area, introduced diversified environmental protection packaging suppliers, and continuously expanded the supply of environmental protection packaging products.

Degradable straw orders increase significantly

By the end of 2020, the catering industry nationwide banned the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws. Can you still drink happily in the future?

Wang Jianhui, head of the public relations department of McDonald's in Beijing, told reporters that since June 30, 2020, in nearly a thousand McDonald's restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, consumers have been able to drink cold drinks without solids directly through the new cup lid. At present, McDonald's restaurants in Beijing have implemented relevant policies and requirements, stopping all plastic straws, replacing beverage packing bags with degradable plastic bags, and using wooden knives, forks and spoons for disposable tableware.

In addition to the solution of the direct drinking cup lid, there are two main types of degradable straws currently widely promoted in the market: one is a paper straw; the other is a polylactic acid (PLA) straw, which is generally made of starch-based materials Emulsified and has good biodegradability. In addition, stainless steel straws, bamboo straws, etc. are also optional alternatives.

When visiting brand beverage stores such as Ruixing Coffee, Starbucks and a little milk tea, the reporter found that disposable plastic straws were no longer provided, but replaced with paper straws or degradable plastic straws.

On the evening of January 4, when the reporter interviewed Li Erqiao, general manager of Zhejiang Yiwu Shuangtong Commodity Co., Ltd., he was busy coordinating the production capacity of straw products. As a leading enterprise in the straw industry, Shuangtong Company can currently provide customers at home and abroad with a variety of products such as polylactic acid straws, paper straws, and stainless steel straws.

"Recently, the number of orders received by the factory has shown an explosive growth, and the orders have been scheduled for April." Li Erqiao said that before the "plastic ban" landed, although Shuangtong gave tips to customers, many customers were on the sidelines and had insufficient stock in advance, resulting in a "crash" of the current order ". "At present, most of the company's production capacity has been put into the production of degradable straws, and some employees engaged in the production of ordinary plastic straws have been adjusted to the production line of degradable products, thereby expanding the number of equipment starts."

"At present, we can supply about 30 tons of degradable products every day, and we will continue to expand our production capacity in the future." Li Erqiao said that as the Spring Festival is approaching, many customers have to stock up in advance, and orders are expected to continue to increase in the future.

Promoting plastic reduction consumption in an orderly manner

The reporter learned in the interview that the cost and experience of alternative products have become important considerations for enterprises to choose. Take straws as an example. The raw material price of ordinary plastic straws is about 8000 yuan per ton, that of polylactic acid straws is nearly 40000 yuan per ton, and that of paper straws is about 22000 yuan per ton. The converted price is equivalent to twice to three times that of plastic straws.

In the use experience, the paper straw is not easy to tie into the sealing film without soaking. Some even have pulp flavor or glue flavor, which seriously affects the taste of the drink itself. Polylactic acid straws because of easy decomposition, the product life cycle is relatively short.

Li Erqiao said that from the perspective of customer demand, the catering market has more choices of polylactic acid straws, and the use experience is better. The channel market chooses more paper straws because the shelf life is longer.

"At this stage, the cost of degradable plastics will be higher, but it is still within an acceptable range." Liu Jianguo, a professor at the School of Environment of Tsinghua University, said that with the expansion of the production capacity of degradable plastic products and the improvement of technical level, the production cost will decrease after the formation of large-scale production in the future.

It is worth noting that the "plastic ban order" highlights the characteristics of systematicness, coordination and order, and promotes it step by step and in different fields. For example, the market is to regulate and restrict the use of non-degradable plastic bags, rather than prohibit the use. During the visit, the reporter learned that some vegetable markets, street breakfast shops, small supermarkets, etc., still use ordinary plastic bags.

Even rolled bags, which are common in the supermarket's fresh vegetable section, are not included in the ban. "With the ban on ordinary plastic bags, we are continuing to observe whether the waste of rolling bags will increase significantly than before, and we will make corresponding adjustments in the future." The person in charge of Wumart Group said that at present, even roll bags are still open for use, and no obvious waste has been found.

Liu Jianguo said that plastic pollution control involves all aspects, and the recycling and disposal of degradable plastic bags must have corresponding supporting systems, which require a certain amount of time to adapt. Therefore, first grasp the key categories, key places, the formation of a certain experience and then gradually promote, in order to promote plastic pollution control in an orderly manner. (Reporter Xiong Li)