ThisyearmarksthetenthanniversaryofChina’simplementationoftheregulationrestrictingplasticbags.AccordingtotheNationalDevelopmentandReformCommission,theregulationcausedtheusageofplasticshoppingbagstodropbytwo-thirdsinsupermarketsandshoppingmallsfrom2008to2013—areductionof67billionplasticbagsor1milliontonsofplastic.
Plasticbagrestrictionsaimtofight“whitepollution.”Butastimepasses,theenforcementandeffectivenessoftheregulationhavefacedchallenges.Andwiththerapidgrowthofnew“InternetPlus”businesses,unrestrictedplasticwastehasemergedingreatquantity.
CheapPlasticBags
OnMay31,2018,ChinaZeroWasteAllianceunderFriendsofNatureissuedareportontheretailers’practiceofrestrictingplasticbags.Of1,101surveyedretailers,979providedplasticbags,butonly89soldplasticbagswithclearmarksandqualifiedthickness.Asidefromlargesupermarketsandnationalchainretailers,90percentofretailersdidnotchargefeesforplasticbags.
Inregardofthecurrentrestrictiveregulationonplasticbags,ChinaZeroWasteAlliancethinksthereareproblemsinbothpricingandmethodsofrestriction.Presently,aplasticbagcosts0.2to0.5yuan,whichhardlybecomesaburdenonconsumers.Manyretailersareevenwillingtoprovidesuchbagsforfreetoavoidlosingcustomers.Althoughsomesellerschargefeesforplasticbags,theycollectthefeesthemselvesratherthanleveragingthetaxtodeterthepollution.Consequently,the“restrictingplasticbags”regulationwasaccusedofmerely“sellingplasticbags.”Unlesstheenvironmentalcostsoftheusageofplasticbagsareincludedintheirproductioncosts,theaffordablepricewillmotivatenoonetoinventreusablealternatives,andretailersandconsumerswillcontinueusingthem.
Thesurveyalsoshowedthatalthough80percentoflargesupermarketsandnationalchainretailerswerechargingfeesforplasticshoppingbags,theystillprovidedfreedisposableplasticproductslikeflatpolybagsandwraps.Theregulationonlylimitsplasticbagswithhandlesyetneglectsthesedisposablebagswhicharealsohardlyrecycled.Thisresultedinrestockingplasticbagswithsubstitutesthatskirtedtherules.Sothetotalsumofplasticwastemaynothavedroppedbutincreased.
AnotherNGO—BeijingUnionofGrassland—alsoconductedasurveyofacertainareawhereplasticshoppingbagswerealmostcompletelyeliminated.Butthealternativesarefreenon-wovenfabricbagsoflowquality,whichareoftendiscardedbyconsumersafterasingleuse.“Theirstrictenforcementoftheregulationdeservesapplause,”saystheheadoftheUnion.“Buttheplasticbagshavebeenreplacedbynon-wovenfabricsubstitutes.Actually,theyaremadefrompolypropylene,sofundamentallythefabricbagisalsoplastic.Theproblemisnotsolved.”April9,2018:TwoblackswansinaparkinShenyang,capitalofChina’snortheasternLiaoningProvince,playwithaplasticbag.Expertsestimatethatmorethan8,500birdsandanimalsdiefromeatingplasticbagseachyearworldwide.ICPrecariousDegradablePlastics
Inrecentyears,Jilin,HainanandHenanprovincesandsomeregionsissuedregulationstorestrictplasticbagsandpromotedegradableplasticstoreplaceplasticshoppingbagsandevendisposabletableware.LastNovember,theStatePostBureauandnineotherministriesjointlyannouncedguidelinestopromotegreenpackaginginthedeliveryindustry,accordingtowhichdegradablegreenmaterialswillaccountfor50percentofallpackagingby2020.
“Weneedtobecarefulbecausenotalldegradableplasticsaregoodfortheenvironment,”stressesDr.MaoDafromBeijingNormalUniversity.“Iftheauthoritiesdonotdefineandstandardize‘degradablepackage,’therewillbebothgoodandbadproductsinthemarket.”Actually,“degradablepackage”isnotthesameas“greenpackage.”
First,degradableplasticisvirtuallyadisposableproduct.Thecultureofone-offconsumptionistherootofthewasteproblem.Disposableproductsfuelmassproductionandmassivewaste.Disposabledegradableplasticproductsarenoexception.Sometypicaldegradableplasticsaremadefromstarch.Iftheyarewidelyused,theycouldsqueezethelandforgrainproduction.Andexcessivediscardingofdegradableplasticshasalsocausedseriousproblems.
Second,materialsfordegradableplasticsvaryconsiderably.Anddegradationrequiresstrictconditions.Chinapresentlylacksunifiedstandardsfordegradablematerials.Manydegradablepackagesinthemarketcanonlybepartiallydegraded.Andthefragmentedleftovercanevencausemoreseriousproblems.Evenmaterialswhichcanbedegradedcompletelycanonlydosoundercertainconditionswithspecifictechnologyandfacilities.Forexample,thedegradabilitydefinedbyEuropeanstandardEN13432requiresparticularcompostingfacilities.Almostnoplasticproductcandissolveintheoceanorordinarysoil.MostcitiesinChinahavenocompostingfacilitiesatall.
Third,fortheforeseeablefuture,China’swastesortingsystemwillnotmeettherequirementstorecycleanddegrade“biodegradableplastics.”Onthecontrary,thepromotionofdegradableplasticscoulddamageChina’sprogressingarbageclassification.Thecountryhaspromotedwastesortingformanyyears.Butonlyrecentlyhaskitchengarbagebecometheclassrequiringthemostsortingwork.Itseemsthebestchoicetocompost“degradableplastics”andorganicfoodwaste.Butactually,someso-called“degradableplastic”productsarejustpartiallydegradableandsomeareevenordinaryplastics.AndbecausemostChinesecitizenshavenotdevelopedthehabitofseparatingtrashbydryorwet,mostofthemwillthrowbothordinaryplasticsanddegradableplasticsintokitchenrubbish.AndtheburgeoningsegregationofwetanddrywasteinChinawillbedestroyed.
Additionally,some“degradableplastics”cannotevenenteracompostingfacility.Forexample,atBeijing’sNangongCompostingPlant,beforemixedkitchenrubbishentersthecompostingworkshop,arollerwillscreenoutpossiblenon-kitchenrubbishanditbelievesbydefaultthatallplasticbagsarenotcompostable.So,degradableplasticbagswillendupwithordinaryplasticones.
So,consideringtheproductiontechnologyandstandardsfordegradableplasticsandtherealitiesofwasteclassificationinChina,itshouldbeprudenttomakeallplasticbagsdegradable.
SuggestionsonPlasticRestriction
Relatedgovernmentdepartmentshaveraisedplasticrestrictionregulationhighontheagenda.InJanuary,theNationalDevelopmentandReformCommissionused“restrictingsomeplasticsbags,replacingsomeandregulatingsome”asaguidelinetosolicitadviceoncontrollingplasticwaste.
First,chargingproducersratherthanconsumersforanyandallplasticbagsshouldcommenceassoonaspossible.Plasticwrapandbagswillstillbecomewaste,sotheauthoritiesshouldinvestigatetheenvironmentalcostofthesekindsofproductsandthenlistthemasdutiablepollutantsintheEnvironmentalProtectionTaxLaworrequiretheirproducerstopayagarbagedisposalfeewhichcouldbecomeaspecialfundformanagingplasticpollution.Thefundamentalprincipleshouldbe“includingtheenvironmentalcostintoproductioncost.”Taxrevenuecanbeusedtosubsidizeresearchonalternatives,thuscreatingavirtuouscircle.
AnexhibitionpresentedbytheCentralAcademyofFineArts,“What’sGreen?”isheldinBeijing’s798ArtDistrict,aimingtodetershoppersfromaskingforsingle-useplasticshoppingbags.VCGSecond,therestrictionshouldexpandtoallplasticwrapandbagsandintroduce“negativelist”management.Theauthoritiesshouldresearchmixedrubbishintherecyclingsystem,landfillsandincineratorsaswellasdisposalmethodsoutsidetheformalsystemtoidentifywhichkindsofplasticsaccountforthemajority.Andthenaccordingtoalternativeplans,theauthoritiesshouldformulatealistofforbiddenandrestrictedplasticproductsandgraduallyexpandthelistbasedonmaturityofalternativeoptions.
Third,theauthoritiesshouldsetlimitsforthetotalquantityofplasticwrapandbagsenteringthemarketandadoptamarketaccesssystem.Bydoingso,thegovernmentcanregulateproductionofplasticwrapandbagsthroughadministrativeapprovals.Onlydisposalplasticwrapandbagsthatarerecyclablecanappearonthewhitelistandenterthemarket,preventingthepopularityofalternativessuchaslow-qualitynon-wovenbags.
Fourth,theauthoritiesshouldencourageinnovationwhilebeingcautiousaboutalternativematerialslike“degradableplastics.”Non-disposalpackagingandinnovativecarryingmethods—likelendingaclothbagwithacashdeposit,durableandrecyclabledeliveryboxesandshopswithoutpackaging—shouldenjoypreferentialpolicies.Thegovernmentshouldsubsidizereusablealternativesthattrulyreducedisposableplasticwrapandbagsandofferfavorablepoliciestocompaniesthatinventdurablepackageforuseinofficesorwarehouses.
TheauthorisdirectorofthepolicydepartmentofChinaZeroWasteAllianceunderFriendsofNature.
June5,2018:HemasupermarketatShanghai’sHuiyangPlazalaunchesa“plasticbag-free”campaigntourgeconsumerstousefewerplasticbags.VCG