The city government is calling for the public to use recyclable bags or paper and cloth bags to replace the nonbiodegradable plastic bags.
At a promotional event organized recently by the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision and Regulation Bureau and with the participation of more than 20 department stores online and onsite at Coco Park in Futian District, the participants issued a letter to support restrictions and bans on plastic bags.
Starting from Sept. 1, authorities will ban, restrict production and sales of nonbiodegradable plastic products.
According to a directive issued by the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission that will take effect Sept. 1, the built-up areas of Shenzhen and Guangzhou will ban the use of nonbiodegradable plastic bags in department stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores, food delivery service and exhibition services before the end of the year.
The canteens of government agencies, public institutions and State-owned enterprises in Guangdong Province should take the lead to ban nonbiodegradable plastic bags, the directive urges.
By the end of 2022, the ban will be expanded to all urban areas of prefecture-level cities and coastal counties and county-level cities in the province.
By 2025, the farm produce markets in counties and above-county-level cities in Guangdong will ban nonbiodegradable plastic bags.
The use of biodegradable plastic products and cloth bags is encouraged, the directive specifies.
By the end of 2022, the postal and delivery service in Guangdong will form a green delivery and logistics service network that will significantly reduce the use of plastic bags.
By the end of 2025, the Pearl River Delta cities will basically realize zero plastic bags for landfills, according to the directive. The use of nonbiodegradable plastic bags and tableware in take-out service of eateries in prefecture-level cities will be reduced by more than 30 percent.
Hotels are required not to voluntarily provide plastics kits, and consumers can purchase them through dispensers by the end of 2022. The ban will be expanded to hostels, inns and guest houses by the end of 2025.