At the beginning of 2021, the "Plastic Restriction Order" (the “Order”) has been implemented. 

Nowadays, when you check out in supermarkets, restaurants or beverage stores, the cashier will tell you that the shopping mall no longer provides plastic shopping bags, and you need to carry your own shopping bags, or need to pay a high price to buy the reusable bags provided by the shopping mall.

The similar situation also occurs for plastic straws no longer provided: you need to bring your own straws or use reusable ones.

What are the disposable plastic products? Are take away boxes, bulk food bags, seasoning bags and plastic cups considered disposable plastic products? Most of them are indeed disposable, and closely related to daily life. Let’s analyze the matter from the perspective of regulations and standards.

The Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Restricting the Production, Sale, and Use of Plastic Shopping Bags, the earliest "Plastic Restriction Order" in China, issued on December 31, 2007, stipulated the followings:

Article 1 - Starting from June 1, 2008, the production, sale, and use of plastic shopping bags with thickness less than 0.025 mm shall be prohibited nationwide.

Article 2 - Starting from June 1, 2008, the system of paid use of plastic shopping bags has been implemented in all supermarkets, shopping malls, fairs and other retail places, and no free plastic shopping bags are allowed.

The purpose of the above Notice was to limit and reduce the production and use of plastic bags and curb the so-called "white pollution". 

After 12 and a half years, in January 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Cleanup of Plastic Pollution, an upgraded version of the Order, with the intent to further strengthen the control of plastic pollution and establish and improve the long-term management mechanism of plastic products. 

Generally speaking, the Opinions state that no matter what kind of shopping methods are used in the future, the customers cannot buy plastic products from commercial places. The Opinion is implemented in three steps:

Step 1 - By the end of 2020, we will take the lead in banning and restricting the production, sale and use of plastic products in some areas and fields;

Step 2 - By 2022, a number of replicable and promotable plastic reduction and green logistics modes have been formed in the areas with prominent plastic pollution issues and emerging areas such as e-commerce, express delivery and takeout;

Step 3 – By 2025, the management system for the production, circulation, consumption, recycling and disposal of plastic products should be basically established, the amount of plastic waste landfill in key cities should be greatly reduced, and the plastic pollution should be effectively controlled.

The Article 5 of Implementation Plan of Shanghai on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control prohibits and restricts plastic products:

Therefore, how to define disposable plastic shopping bag?

According to Detailed Standard for Prohibition and Restriction Management of Related Plastic Products (2020), disposable plastic shopping bag refers to disposable plastic shopping bags used to hold and carry products in shopping malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores, exhibitions, fairs, etc., excluding plastic prepackaged bags, continuous roll bags, fresh-keeping bags, etc. that are used to hold bulk freshfood, cooked food, noodle and other products for health and food safety purposes.

The point is that the above exclusion is still not clear. What if other food is also excluded apart from the fresh food in bulk, cooked food and noodle? According to the professionals of Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau, plastic bags of prepackaged food are not in the list of prohibited plastic bags.

Therefore, we can assure that the prepackaged bags for food safety purposes are not prohibited.

The following common plastic products are prohibited:

• ultrathin plastic shopping bags with thicknessless than 0.025mm;
• disposable Foam Plastic Tableware;
• non-degradable plastic bags (shopping bags);
• disposable plastic tableware (excluding disposable plastic tableware for prepackaged food);
• disposable plastic straw (excluding the plasticstraw on the outer package of milk, beverage, etc.).

The above is a brief explanation of the restrictions on the use of plastic products in China. Let's learn about the practices of other countries.

EU

On July 3, 2019, the European Commission issued the decision (EU) 2019 / 1268 citizen's initiative - Let's end the plastic age of the EU, which came into effect on July 26, 2019. Such initiative aims to ban the use of all disposable plastic products in Europe, and calls for the ban of all plastic packaging and plastic bottles by 2027.

USA

State legislatures in the United States are considering a series of measures to reduce the use of plastic bags in grocery stores and other businesses. Some States focus on implementing effective recycling programs, while others impose bans or charges to completely prevent the use of plastic bags. For example, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont, explicitly prohibit the use of disposable plastic bags.

Between them, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Oregon and Vermont have enacted the bill in 2019. Most of the bills prohibit or charge for plastic bags, while others will be taken by local governments for improved bag recycling schemes. In addition to restrictions on plastic bags, Vermont's SB113 also limits disposable straws and polystyrene containers.

Korea

On November 27, 2019, the Ministry of environment of the Republic of Korea issued a draft for some amendments to the Standard for Safety and Labeling of Household Chemical Products Subject to Safety Confirmation on the prohibition of the use of micro plastics in cleaning and washing products. 

The draft stipulates that from January 1, 2021, the use of microplastic beads for cleaning and grinding is prohibited for the production and import of cleaning products (detergents) and laundry products (washing powder, bleaching agent and fiber softener). 

At present, the draft has been approved and the amendment sheet has been officially published and implemented according to the original plan.

Japan

On December 13, 2018, the government of Kyoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, issued the Kyoka Zero Plastic Waste Declaration, which prohibits retail stores from providing plastic bags to customers, and the paid plastic bags are also included in the prohibition. 

The relevant regulations came into effect on January 1, 2021, and the provisions of Article 13 and Article 14 will come into effect on June 1, 2021.

We hope this article can help you to have a more professional understanding of "Plastic Restriction Order". In the new year, we kindly remind everyone to make little contribution to our environmental protection. When you go shopping, please do remember to bring your own shopping bags, and it's better to use reusable bags!