According to the Beijing Youth Daily, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other nine departments jointly issued the "Notice on Solidly Promoting Plastic Pollution Control", proposing that starting from January 1 next year, the establishment of urban areas in municipalities, provincial capitals, and cities separately designated in the plan The use of non-degradable plastic shopping bags is prohibited in shopping malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores and other places, catering and take-out services, and various exhibition activities. However, rolling bags, fresh-keeping bags and garbage bags are not forbidden.

　　 Related topics rushed to the hot search list on Sina.

　　 At the same time, the production and sale of disposable plastic cotton swabs and disposable foamed plastic tableware will be banned nationwide from next year; non-degradable disposable plastic straws are forbidden in the national catering industry, but the straws that come with the outer packaging of food such as milk and beverages are temporarily not prohibited.

　　Nine departments issued a notice: banning the use of non-degradable plastic bags from next year

According to the news on the website of the Development and Reform Commission on July 17, since the issuance of the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Treatment of Plastic Pollution", the retail and catering industries have attached great importance to and responded actively. From the height of ecological civilization construction, they understand and grasp the importance and grasp of plastic pollution control. Urgency, always put this work as an important agenda. Recently, the nine departments jointly issued the "Notice on Solidly Promoting Plastic Pollution Control", redeploying and re-mobilizing related work, especially the target tasks at the end of 2020, and also clarified the detailed implementation standards of the work.

　　 1. Which goals and tasks proposed in the "Notice" are related to the retail and catering industries?

　　 The "Notice" and detailed standards have pointed out the direction for industry enterprises to implement plastic pollution control requirements. Among the mission targets for plastic pollution control by the end of 2020, those related to the retail and catering industries are mainly the following categories:

　　 One is a non-degradable plastic bag. At the end of 2020, shopping malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores and other places in the built-up areas of municipalities, provincial capitals, and cities separately designated in the plan, as well as food and beverage take-out services and various exhibition activities, are prohibited from using disposable non-degradable plastic bags. The "Notice" clearly pointed out that non-degradable plastic bags refer to non-degradable plastic shopping bags used to hold and carry items in shopping malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores, etc., and do not include sanitary and food security purposes, used for bulk fresh food Plastic pre-packed bags, roll bags, fresh-keeping bags, etc. for food, cooked food, pasta and other commodities.

　　 The second is a disposable plastic straw. At the end of 2020, non-degradable disposable plastic straws will be banned in the catering industry nationwide. The "Notice" clarified that the prohibition does not include the plastic straws that come with the outer packaging of food such as milk and beverages.

　　 The third is disposable plastic tableware. By the end of 2020, the use of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware for catering services in built-up areas and scenic spots in cities above the prefecture level is prohibited. The "Notice" clarifies the current prohibited categories of disposable non-degradable plastic tableware as disposable non-degradable plastic knives, forks, and spoons, excluding disposable plastic tableware used for pre-packaged food.

　　 In addition, ultra-thin plastic shopping bags, disposable foam tableware, disposable plastic cotton swabs, daily chemical products containing plastic microbeads and other products are also related to the daily operations of the retail and catering industries. The detailed standards in the "Notice" fully consider the actual situation of the industry and the production and supply situation, which not only increases the operability of the policy, but also ensures the steady progress of the policy. The retail and catering industries will actively promote implementation in accordance with relevant requirements.

　　 2. What are the current alternatives for products that involve restricted use?

　　 For the disposable plastic products that will be stopped in some areas and places before the end of 2020, industry enterprises have begun to take positive actions and have formed a number of practical alternatives.

　　 Disposable plastic shopping bags: With the improvement of the public's environmental awareness, many consumers have developed the habit of bringing their own shopping bags. The formation of the public's green consumption habits plays an important role in reducing the use of plastic bags. Of course, there are many alternatives to plastic shopping bags. For example, many supermarkets can provide consumers with non-woven eco-friendly shopping bags. The design and production of exquisite eco-friendly shopping bags has even become a shopping fashion; paper shopping bags replace plastic shopping bags. This is also the practice of most companies; some bookstores have adopted simple kraft paper packages instead of shopping bags and have received good results. In addition, some supermarkets are also actively promoting the use of environmentally friendly biodegradable plastic shopping bags.

Disposable plastic straws: In order to reduce the use of disposable plastic straws, some catering companies have transformed the lids of cold drink cups and replaced the "sippers + cup lids" combination with cup lids with their own drinking spouts, which better replaced the drinking straws. . Alternative products such as biodegradable plastic straws are also actively being produced and applied, and related products are gradually mature, which can provide strong support for the replacement of disposable non-degradable plastic straws.

　　 Disposable plastic cutlery (cutlery): In order to reduce the consumption of disposable plastic cutlery, most qualified catering companies use reusable cutlery in dinning. Some fast food companies are using bamboo and wooden spoons instead of disposable plastic spoons, and they have also achieved good results. Tableware made of biodegradable plastic can also be used by consumers.

At the same time, according to statistical calculations, the annual consumption of the above-mentioned three types of plastic products in the retail and catering sectors involved in the phased targets of 2020 is about 300,000 tons. The raw materials for alternatives such as non-woven fabrics, paper, bamboo and wood are sufficient. The annual supply of degradable plastics is about 400,000 tons. It should be said that the production capacity of alternative products can meet consumer demand. While relevant companies strive to provide consumers with high-quality alternative products, we also call on consumers to participate in the treatment of plastic pollution, reduce the use of disposable plastic products, and jointly practice a green lifestyle.

　　3. In order to implement various goals and tasks, what preparations have been made in the retail, catering and other industries?

　　At present, the industry and enterprises have taken active actions to actively participate in plastic reduction work. One is to carry out the publicity and implementation of policies and regulations related to plastic restriction. We have actively carried out policy publicity together with other relevant industry associations, and conveyed the policy to industry enterprises in place. In the follow-up, retail, catering and other enterprises will also be organized to increase the intensity of publicizing the plastic restriction policy to consumers, promote good experience and practices, and jointly form a habit of plastic reduction. The second is to carry out supply and demand matchmaking activities. Organize the catering industry, retail industry and alternative product manufacturers to conduct docking, select qualified suppliers, put forward product procurement requirements, and promote enterprises to establish a green procurement system. The third is that we will jointly launch an initiative with relevant industry associations to encourage more companies in the trade and circulation service industry to fulfill their main responsibilities and consciously carry out plastic reduction actions.

　　 4. What role can ordinary consumers play in dealing with plastic pollution?

　　Retail and catering industries stop using some disposable plastic products, which may have an impact on traditional consumption methods. Ordinary consumers should also realize that traditional consumption methods have brought tremendous pressure on natural resources and the environment; changing unreasonable consumption methods, reducing plastic pollution, and reducing the impact on the ecological environment is not only the key content of ecological civilization construction, but also Every consumer's social responsibility. Every ordinary consumer can use recyclable products in daily consumption, reduce the use of disposable plastic products, moderate consumption, and green consumption; only everyone actively participates, starting from the small things around them, and gradually forming new habits of green consumption. In order to promote the plastic pollution control work to achieve better results.

　　The original intention of the plastic bag designer is to save the earth

　　As a new type of material, plastic products have the advantages of light weight, waterproof, durable, mature production technology, and low cost. They are widely used all over the world and are increasing year by year. The growth rate of plastic packaging materials in the world market is higher than that of other packaging materials. The average annual growth rate of plastic packaging materials from 1990 to 1995 was 8.9%.

　　 Plastic shopping bags have now become a symbol of environmental pollution, but back in 1959, Swedish packaging designer Steen Gustaf Turin designed this one-piece polyethylene shopping bag with the opposite intention. He is to save the planet by replacing the paper bags that consume a lot of resources with plastic bags that consume less resources. He believes that plastic bags should be reused instead of thrown away.

　　 China is one of the top ten plastic products production and consumption countries in the world. In 1995, China produced 5.19 million tons of plastics and imported nearly 6 million tons of plastics. That year, the country's total plastic consumption was about 11 million tons, of which 2.11 million tons were used for packaging. Most of the packaging plastics are discarded in the environment in the form of waste films, plastic bags and foam tableware. These waste plastic packaging materials are scattered in urban areas, scenic tourist areas, water bodies, and both sides of roads, which not only affect the landscape and cause "visual pollution", but also cause potential harm to the ecological environment because of their difficulty in degradation.

　　According to the survey, 3% of the domestic waste in Beijing is waste plastic packaging, with an annual total of about 140,000 tons; 7% of the domestic waste in Shanghai is waste plastic packaging, with an annual total of about 190,000 tons. Tianjin City also has more than 100,000 tons of waste plastic packaging each year. Every year in Beijing, about 2.3 billion plastic bags are discarded in the environment, about 220 million disposable plastic tableware, and about 6.75 million square meters of waste agricultural film. People call this play "the suburbs are all white."

　　 In May 2019, a team of expeditions dived to 10,927 meters in the Mariana Trench. While breaking the deepest diving record, they also found a plastic trash at the bottom of the trench.