China Bans Plastic Bags and Straws

China will ban non-degradable plastic bags in big cities. The restaurant industry will also be banned from using single-use straws by the end of this year in an effort to reduce waste.

The country is one of the largest plastic consumers in the world, and the plan aims to reduce 30% non-degradable single-use packaging in large cities' food establishments within 5 years.

In a document issued on Sunday, The National Development and Reform Commission stated that the production and sale of plastic containers and disposable styrofoam packaging will be banned by the end of the year.

Markets selling fresh produce will be exempt until 2025.

The production and sale of plastic bags that are less than 0.025mm thick will also be banned.

Hotels have been told that they must not offer free single-use plastic items by 2025.

China produced 210 million tonnes of garbage in 2017, according to World Bank data. The waste amount could jump up to 500 million tonnes a year by 2030.