Change from "limit" to "prohibition" and gradually replace disposable plastic products by type
Countdown to Hainan's Comprehensive "Prohibition of Plastics" (Green Home)
Our reporter Zhao Peng Yan Xu
Eighty percent of the garbage floating on the sea is plastic, which seriously threatens the marine ecology and becomes a stumbling block to the green development of Hainan. In the face of "white pollution", Hainan made up its mind to completely "ban plastic".
In April this year, the Hainan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment issued the “Notice on the Pilot Work on Prohibiting the Production and Use of Disposable Non-Degradable Plastic Products”, which clarified that from April to November, Hainan will organize key industries and venues to take the lead The "plastic ban" pilot work laid a solid foundation for the official implementation of the comprehensive "plastic ban" from December. At present, Hainan has entered a comprehensive "plastic ban" countdown.
Hainan has a firm attitude and is the first in the country to say "no" to "white pollution"
Hainan Province is surrounded by the sea on all sides, with 1823 kilometers of coastline and 68 large and small harbors. The long coastline and clear blue harbour are both a gift of nature to Hainan and a golden business card of Hainan's ecology. However, in recent years, along with the increase in human economic activity, the coastline has faced severe ecological pressure.
"On an average coastline of 1 kilometer, 174 pieces of garbage can be picked up each time, and 147 pieces of plastic garbage." Pu Bingmei, secretary general of Sanya Blue Ribbon Marine Protection Association, admitted that the coastline is being swallowed by plastic waste. Since July last year, the association and volunteers have selected three fishing villages in Sanya City to pick up coastal garbage 8 times a month for 4 months to conduct statistics.
Statistics show that on average, 524 pieces of garbage are picked up on the coastline each time, of which 440 pieces are plastic waste. From the total point of view, plastic waste accounts for about 85% of the total waste. "Especially in fishing villages where tourism is mature, there are many traditional white pollutants such as plastic bottles, plastic bags, and lunch boxes in the garbage." Pu Bingmei said.
According to the "2018 China Marine Eco-Environmental Status Bulletin" released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, there are an average of 2358 pieces of medium and small pieces of floating garbage per square kilometer on the sea surface, of which the largest amount is plastic garbage, accounting for 88.7%, and the main garbage is polyphenyl Vinyl foam, plastic bags and plastic bottles. On the beach, there are an average of 60,761 garbage per square kilometer, and the proportion of plastic garbage is 77.5%. The types of plastic waste are mainly polyethylene foam, plastic products (plastic bags, bottles, caps, etc.) and cigarette filters.
"White pollution" is coming. At present, the annual consumption of disposable plastic bags in Hainan Province is about 40,000 tons, and the annual consumption of disposable plastic tableware is about 25,000 tons. The white pollutants represented by plastic bags have low recycling value and stable structure, and are not easily degraded by microorganisms. Once they are not properly recycled, they will exist permanently in the land and marine ecological environment and continue to accumulate, causing great harm to animals and plants .
"Turtles will swallow plastic bags and plastic films as jellyfish." Huang Hongbo, head of the Qilianyu Turtle Protection Station in Sansha City, has seen sea turtles die from ingestion of plastic or entanglement in waste fishing nets. For many years, Huang Hongbo, who was in his sixties, turned around the island's sand embankment almost every day, picking up plastic bottles and waste fishing nets washed up by the waves. "In recent years, there has been significantly more plastic waste washed up on the shore than before." Huang Hongbo said.
"White pollution" threatens marine ecology and has become a stumbling block to Hainan's green development. Two years ago, the central government determined that Hainan would become a national ecological civilization pilot zone. To implement the concept of green development, we must put into action. Hainan was the first in the country to say "no" to "white pollution", and Hainan has a firm attitude.
"Limit" to "Prohibit", prohibit the production, sale and use of disposable non-degradable plastic products from the source
In February last year, Hainan announced the Implementation Plan for the Comprehensive Prohibition of the Production, Sale, and Use of Disposable Non-degradable Plastic Products in Hainan Province, announcing that the province will gradually promote a comprehensive “plastic ban” by category. Since April of this year, Hainan has taken the lead in prohibiting sales and use in the canteens of party and government organs, institutions, institutions and other units of the province, tourist attractions, large supermarkets, hospitals and other industries. The list of non-degradable plastic products (the first batch) "disposable non-degradable plastic bags, plastic tableware, marking Hainan press the start button for a comprehensive" plastic ban ".
As early as 2008, according to the national unified regulations, the entire island of Hainan entered the "plastic restriction" stage. However, due to consumption habits, production costs and other reasons, the use of traditional plastic bags is still huge. "'Plastic restriction' has a significant effect on large-scale supermarkets. The use of plastic bags in these places is reduced by about 2/3, but it has little effect on the farmer's market." Zhang Jing, deputy director of the Department of Soil and Environmental Management of the Hainan Provincial Department of Ecological Environment .
In the past, "plastic restriction" mainly relied on charging consumers for plastic bags to regulate the market and restrict their use. Now, "plastic ban" prohibits the production and use of non-degradable plastic products on the island from the source.
"It's not that all plastic products are 'banned' at once, but it's easy to come after difficult. First, the production, sale and use of listed non-degradable disposable plastic bags, plastic tableware, etc. are prohibited, and the transition is gradually." Hainan Province The person in charge of the Department of Ecology and Environment said that the Hainan “plastic ban” summarized the experience and lessons of “plastic limit” in China and other countries in the world, and carried out systematic planning and deployment, which involved various aspects such as standard setting, alternative product supply, closed-loop law enforcement, and social publicity .
The "Proposal" proposes that Hainan will steadily advance the comprehensive "plastic ban" by industry and category. Before the end of 2020, the province will comprehensively prohibit the production, sale, and use of disposable non-degradable plastic bags and plastic tableware; by the end of 2025, the province will completely prohibit the production, sale, and use of plastic products listed in the "List".
At the end of April, in a supermarket chain on Longkun South Road, Haikou City, the cashier was packing goods into plastic bags according to customer requirements, and most of the citizens who lined up to check out did not bring their own cloth bags. The duty manager of the supermarket's front desk said: "The supermarket has prepared degradable plastic bags, which are provided to customers for a fee." Many customers said that compared with traditional cloth bags and vegetable baskets, degradable plastic bags feel the same as plastic bags in the past. The price is 5 to 8 cents, which does not affect the shopping experience.
According to reports, the cost of fully biodegradable plastic raw materials on the market is about twice that of traditional plastic raw materials. At the consumer end, the average price of plastic bags originally used in supermarkets is about 0.5 yuan, and the prices of alternative products range from 0.8 yuan to 1.5 yuan. Ms. Huang, a vegetable stall owner at the Haikou Pobo Farmers' Market, said that usually stalls provide customers with free plastic bags. In the past, wholesale bags were low in price, and they were digested in the price of vegetables. Now if the price of the bag is too high, it is transferred to the price of vegetables. Will affect sales.
Ms. Huang's worries are not without reason. Products in supermarkets are generally packed, but fresh products such as vegetables and meat still need to be packaged at the time, as is the case in farmers ’markets. "Buy three or four dollars for green vegetables. If there is dirt on the roots, you really need a plastic bag, but it costs 8 cents to buy a degradable bag. Isn't it too expensive to count this vegetable?" Uncle Li said.
In this regard, Huang Benkai, a technician at the R & D department of a new materials company in Hainan, introduced that from April to December this year is the market cultivation period. During this period, companies can adjust prices and test the performance of fully biodegradable plastic products. The price of substitutes will fluctuate with the market. In the future, when the market usage is large, the unit price will naturally drop.
Fully biodegradable plastic products will become the main substitute
After a comprehensive "plastic ban", fully biodegradable plastic products will become the main substitute for traditional plastic products. According to industry insiders, the main raw material of this product is starch and other degradable raw materials. The naked eye can't tell the difference, and the hand feels softer. After testing, its performance is no different from the plastic products on the market.
Prohibiting the use of traditional plastic bags and ensuring the supply of alternatives is the key. Hainan is planning to establish a demonstration base for the entire biodegradable plastics industry, organize and formulate industrial development plans, introduce advanced enterprises and cooperate with local enterprises, and form the island's production capacity of full biodegradable plastic products.
"Encourage the transformation and upgrading of existing traditional plastics production enterprises in the province, initially form alternative production capacity, and accelerate the implementation of existing projects, and strive to form a new production capacity as soon as possible." Wang Xiuhao, director of the Consumer Goods Industry Department of Hainan Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, Hainan There are already 4 enterprises in the island under construction and plans to build substitute production projects. It is expected that by the end of this year, there will be a substitute production capacity of 23,000 tons / year. At the same time, many companies outside the island intend to invest in Hainan's degradable plastic products factory.
"In the past, it mainly served high-end industries such as medical treatment, and now daily demand such as supermarkets is growing rapidly." Liu Wei, general manager of a new materials company in Hainan, said that their company's degradable plastic products can be decomposed into carbon dioxide and water within six months. "This year, the company has a production capacity of 1500 tons / year of degradable film bags. In the future, it can expand its production capacity, which can not only meet the needs of Hainan, but also meet the needs of other regions in the future." Liu Wei believes that degradable plastic is the future The development direction of the plastics industry.
On the other hand, increasing the production of substitutes and expanding market capacity cannot be achieved without effective government supervision. "If there are no regulatory measures, real degradable plastic products companies will not survive, and ultimately will not achieve the effect of plastic ban." Liao Xiqun, financial director of a plastic packaging company in Haikou, believes that government departments should crack down on illegal production of disposable non-degradable plastic products. Enterprises to ensure market order.
"In the gradual replacement process, Hainan will strengthen the supervision of production, sales, use and other circulation links." The person in charge of the Hainan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment said that Hainan Province will go from "strict production access" and "prohibition of entry outside the island". In terms of, to eliminate the production, sales and use of disposable non-degradable plastic products, and to speed up the improvement of the detection capacity of fully biodegradable plastics and products, issue local standards, deploy and operate the Hainan Provincial Plastic Prohibition Work Management Information Platform, and rely on the platform to form a complete biodegradation The traceability system of the whole process of the circulation of plastic products realizes the informationization of supervision and law enforcement.
At present, Hainan Province has compiled general technical requirements for fully biodegradable plastic products, and will establish rapid detection methods for fully biodegradable plastic products, thereby providing a "ruler" and scientific basis for law enforcement supervision.