Plastic Straws that have been Degraded for 500 years may be about to Disappear
Plastic bags are restricted to no plastic bags
"The new McDonald's hamburger tastes great, but the restaurant forgot to give the coke straw." It's a joke that's been popping up on social media lately.But it wasn't really the clerk's fault. McDonald's China has announced that nearly 1,000 restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be the first to stop using plastic straws.McDonald's no longer "in charge", not on a whim, but in response to the upgrade of the new "plastic limit". After years of using straws to "slurp" drinks, you and I may have to change that too.The new "Plastic limit order" has been put into operation, transforming from "plastic limit" to "Plastic ban".
The formation of a plastic ban
At the end of June 2020, a paper published in the respected academic journal Biology Letters reported that trace amounts of plastic had been detected in the Antarctic springbodes in the underlying biological chain, providing the first direct evidence that plastic has polluted the most remote corners of the world — and that ubiquitous plastic pollution has once again aroused strong concern. The dangers of "white pollution" are well known. Twelve years have passed since China implemented the "plastic bag limit" in 2008. Data released by the National Development and Reform Commission shows that the annual growth rate of plastic bag use in China has dropped from more than 20% before 2008 to less than 3%. But the consistently positive growth rate also suggests that plastic bag use continues to grow. In January 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Treatment of Plastic Pollution. By the end of 2020, the production, sale and use of some plastic products should be banned and restricted in some regions and fields. After 12 years of "plastic limit", we are gradually moving towards "plastic ban".
The plastics industry needs to be transformed
There is also a big industry behind consumers' preference for plastic products such as plastic straws. China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of plastics, with 2.83 million plastics-related enterprises, led by Zhejiang province with 437,000, according to Qacha. In addition to the "deadline approaching" straw, the new "plastic limit order" on disposable plastic tableware, hotels and hotels disposable plastic supplies, express plastic packaging and other "plastic major" ban, restrictions have been phased arrangements, China's plastic products industry will also experience a new round of pain. "On the basis of reducing, replacing and recycling, the key is to get plastic products into a regulated collection and processing system." In the opinion of Liu Jianguo, a professor at tsinghua University's School of Environment, it is more important to establish a long-term mechanism for plastic pollution control. In this regard, the new "plastic limit order" has also put forward policies and measures covering the whole process and every link of the production, circulation, use, recycling and disposal of plastic products. For the current traditional plastic production enterprises, how to transform and upgrade, will be the biggest test they face.
