On February 10, 2020, China’s Hainan Province published the Regulations on Prohibiting Single-use Non-biodegradable Plastics[1] and set its effective date for December 1 this year. The Regulations requires that the production, transport, sale, storage and use of single-use non-biodegradable plastic bags and tableware should be banned after its entry into force.
Consisting of 30 articles, the Regulations lays out a set of systems concerning plastics control, including inventory development (the Inventory of Single-use Non-biodegradable Plastics Prohibited from Production, Sale and Use [Batch 1] [2] was published earlier in July 2019 to seek public comments) and tracking of alternatives . It also clarifies the responsibilities of various agencies in controlling plastics, the scope of the prohibited single-use non-biodegradable plastics, supply of alternatives to plastics and regulatory measures for the circulation process.
The Regulations is developed in accordance with the Program of Hainan Province for Comprehensively Prohibiting Production, Sale and Use of Single-use Non-biodegradable Plastics [3], which pledges that the Province will exercise a total ban on production, sale and use of single-use non-biodegradable plastic bags and tableware by late 2020, and prohibit production, sale and use of all plastics included in the Inventory by the end of 2025.
