China, the World’s Biggest Producer of Plastic, Starts Banning Plastic

Almost three-quarters of China’s plastic waste ends up in landfills or – worse – in the natural environment. So last month, the government announced new guidelines that will reduce single-use plastic waste in the country, over the course of five years.

With 60 million tons a year, China is the biggest plastic producer in the world. “Consumption of plastic products, especially single-useitems, has been consistently rising,” reads a statement from the new guidelines. “There needs to be stronger comprehensive planning and a systematic rollout to clean up plastic pollution.”

The plan is to ban disposable plastic sets in three phases. By the end of the year, the import of plastic waste and the use of nonbiodegradable plastic bags in major cities will be band. By the end of 2022, the package delivery sector will have to stop using nonbiodegradable plastic packaging and tape. And by 2025, the ban will extend across the entire nation.