MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Chinese government has mandated a broad ban on ultra-thin plastic bags and munch film used in the agriculture sector across the country starting 1 January 2021, according to CommoPlast.
The move is in addition to the Five-year plan to reduce the use of single-use non-biodegradable plastic products reported earlier.
The latest ban once come to effect would prohibit company/individual from producing, distributing, selling, storing of plastic bags under 0.025 millimeters thick and plastic mulch - used to retain moisture in the soil - of less than 0.01 millimeters.
According to industry experts, the ban would cause domestic demand for plastic bags to fall from 1.6 million tons/year currently to about 1.1 million tons.
Chinese plastic manufacturers are now facing more challenges aside from the rising labor costs and hiking raw material prices. Many are looking to diversify product lines to mitigate the impact of the curb.
As MRC reported before, in September 2019, The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine introduced a bill of banning plastic bags in stores since January 2022.
Earlier it was reported that, according to the UN, about 80 countries have already introduced a ban on disposable packages. European Parliament, in the fight against pollution of the oceans, voted to ban disposable plastic products - disposable tableware, drinking straws, thin plastic bags and others in October last year. Republic of Belarus also began to consider the prohibition of free plastic bags in stores and the restriction of the use of disposable polymer glassware in catering establishments in July of this year.
According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time,
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