China’s 14th Five-Year Plan Action Plan Targets Plastic Pollution with 2025 Full-Chain Goals

Rising volumes of single-use plastics, multiple layers of plastic on express parcels, and difficulty collecting plastic waste—these persistent problems will be prioritized in China’s plastic pollution control efforts during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment recently jointly released the Action Plan for Plastic Pollution Control During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period. It calls for whole-chain governance of plastic pollution and for barriers at each stage to keep plastic from leaking into the environment.

Plastic is a key basic material widely used across the economy and society. It brings convenience to production and daily life, but also creates major environmental challenges. Plastic itself is not a pollutant; the core problem is that plastic waste enters soil, water bodies and other natural environments and is difficult to degrade, causing visual pollution, soil damage, microplastics and other harm. Plastic pollution control is a global challenge and has become a major international topic in recent years.

For the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Action Plan sets out three main tasks. First, reduce plastic production and use at the source by promoting green design for plastic products, continuing to cut single-use plastic consumption, and advancing plastic alternatives in a scientific and prudent way. Second, accelerate standardized recycling, utilization and disposal of plastic waste by strengthening regulated collection and removal, improving rural collection, transport and disposal systems, boosting plastic waste recycling, and enhancing harmless disposal. Third, clean up and remediate plastic waste in key areas, with targeted actions for rivers, lakes, seas, tourist attractions and rural areas.

Single-use plastic products are currently widely used, low in value and hard to collect—making them a key difficulty and pain point in plastic pollution control. The Action Plan therefore states that their production and use will be reduced at the source.

In product design and production, the plan promotes green design for plastic products. It bans production of certain items that harm the environment and human health, including ultra-thin plastic shopping bags below 0.025 mm, polyethylene agricultural mulch film below 0.01 mm, and daily chemical products containing plastic microbeads. It also calls for less excessive packaging, greater material uniformity, and easier circulation and recycling of products to support post-use recovery and reuse.

In circulation and consumption, the plan seeks to reduce non-degradable plastic shopping bags, single-use plastic tableware, single-use plastic straws and single-use hotel plastic items in traditional commercial services such as retail, catering and accommodation. It urges e-commerce and food delivery platforms and express delivery companies to fulfill primary responsibilities and set platform rules for reducing single-use plastics. Secondary packaging of e-commerce goods in delivery should be substantially reduced, while express packaging should become more standardized, green and circular.

The Action Plan also provides a timetable. By 2025, the plastic pollution control mechanism should operate more effectively; responsibilities of local governments, departments and enterprises should be effectively implemented; whole-chain governance across production, circulation, consumption, recycling and end-of-life disposal should deliver more notable results; and white pollution should be effectively curbed.

On source reduction, irrational use of single-use plastics in key sectors such as retail, e-commerce, food delivery, express delivery and accommodation should fall substantially. E-commerce express parcels should basically eliminate secondary packaging, and the use of recyclable express packaging should reach 10 million units.

On recycling and disposal, cities at prefecture level and above should basically establish local systems for classified domestic waste placement, collection, transport and treatment, greatly improving plastic waste collection and transfer efficiency. National urban domestic waste incineration capacity should reach about 800,000 tonnes per day, with a sharp drop in directly landfilled plastic waste. Agricultural film recovery should reach 85%, and national mulch film residue should achieve zero growth.

On cleanup, open plastic waste left from the past in key waters, major tourist attractions and rural areas should be basically cleared. Leakage of plastic waste into the natural environment should be effectively controlled.

Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378297.html.