China's ban on free plastic bags has met with a mixed response since it took effect on June 1. However, the ban has been implemented fairly well, especially in supermarkets and large department stores across China.
Some supermarkets have reported an 80 percent drop in bags consumed
Under China's new anti-plastic bag laws, flimsy bags under 0.025 millimeters thick are banned and shop keepers must charge for carrier bags. Those found breaking the law must pay fines and could have their goods confiscated.
One day after the ban kicked off, authorities in Beijing fined a shop 10,000 yuan for secretly using the ultra-thin plastic bags. The amount was the maximum stipulated by the law and aimed at deterring other businesses from doing the same.
In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and many other big cities, the municipal governments and the municipal bureaus of commerce on June 1 jointly sent a notice to supermarkets, department stores and other sales outlets stipulating that the number and the unit price of the plastic bags consumed must be clearly stated in the sales report. In addition, all sales outlets are required to put up signs indicating no free plastic bags available in eye-catching places.
Guangzhou's Jusco supermarket took the lead in the nation by launching their newly developed "bio-friendly and decomposable plastic bags" on June 1; and donated a portion of bag sales to the Guangdong Environmental Protection Fund.
The ban is likely to change consumer habits
Chinese consumers, accustomed to the free carriers provided after shopping, will have to alter their ingrained habits according to the new directive. While environmentalists and concerned citizens welcome the potential effects brought by the new ban on curbing pollution, many consumers are concerned about the possible inconvenience it brings. Some supermarkets in China offer inexpensive cloth shopping bags on their shelves, but sales have typically been slow, as customers had been happy to receive free plastic bags.
While the new ban brings a foreseeable inconvenience to customers, the potential benefits to the environment and energy and resources conservation are huge. Since the initiation of the law, more and more consumers have started to plan ahead for their supermarket trip and bring bags from home.
The ban draws a lukewarm response from some shoppers
Ultra-thin bags are the main target of the clampdown because they are typically used once and then thrown away. They litter streets, fields and streams, and create "white pollution." According to scientists, it can take more than 200 years for the plastic bags to disintegrate in the natural environment, contaminating land and water and injuring or killing wildlife in the process.
Even though the government has invested in alternatives and educated the public to make more sensible environmental choices, a general awareness of environmental protection cannot be shaped overnight. The ban, in effect, was largely ignored or unheard of among small-time wet market vendors, who said charging for the plastic bags would repel many customers.
"My vegetables are only worth 50 cents- 100 cents a piece. It will be very hard to sell if I have to charge 20 cents for the plastic bag," one Shanghai vendor said.
It is reported that in Guangzhou free plastic bags are still on offer in some small-sized wet markets, stores and restaurants.
While the implemented charges for the bags resulted in reductions of 80-90% in daily usage in supermarkets across China, a total ban on plastic bags is still an arduous task; and the road to any conclusive success is still long.
By People's Daily Online
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