China ramps up efforts to tackle plastic pollution with five-year action plan

The government plan sets out targets for phasing out single-use plastics, boosting recycling and promoting alternatives to plastic

A fifth of the world’s single-use plastic came from China in 2019, according to a study in May this year by the Australia-based Minderoo Foundation

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A labourer sorting out plastic bottles for recycling in Dong Xiao Kou village, on the outskirt of Beijing. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:14pm, 16 Sep 2021Updated: 10:12pm, 16 Sep 2021

China will ramp up its efforts to phase out single-use plastics, boost recycling and promote alternatives to plastic in the next five years in a bid to curb pollution and meet the country’s carbon neutrality targets.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s central economic planner, published a five-year action plan for reducing plastic pollution on its website on Wednesday.

Jointly issued by the NDRC and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the plan for 2021 to 2025 aims to “further improve the management of the entire chain of plastic pollution”.

It provides detailed measures and specific targets for cutting the production and use of plastics, promoting alternatives, developing a recycling system, and reducing landfill plastic waste while boosting incineration capabilities.

“Plastic pollution has become a focal environmental issue, raising common concerns around the world,” said Zhang Deyuan, deputy director of the research institute under NDRC, in a policy interpretation of the plan published by NDRC on Thursday. “The core of plastic pollution control is to build strong dams [against] plastic leakage to the environment.”

The action plan assigned responsibilities to several state departments.

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