Henan passes new regulations on “plastic ban and restriction”! Effective from January 1, 2024

On November 30, the “Henan Province Provisions on Prohibiting and Restricting Non-degradable Disposable Plastic Products” was voted on at the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th Provincial People’s Congress and will be effective from January 1, 2024 Implementation.

According to the “Regulations”, the production, sale, and use of some non-degradable disposable plastic products, such as disposable non-degradable plastic bags, tableware, express packaging, etc., will be prohibited and restricted throughout the province, and a list of prohibited and restricted plastic products will be managed. .

11 categories of plastic products, including non-degradable plastic bags and disposable plastic tableware, will be banned

Article 3 of the “Regulations” clearly states: Prohibitions and restrictions on non-degradable disposable plastic products shall be subject to directory management. The directory includes implementation categories, implementation areas, implementation industries, completion time limits, etc., and shall be formulated by the provincial government and announced to the public in a timely manner.

Our province has included 11 categories of non-degradable disposable plastic products in the list of banned and restricted plastic products: the production and sale of ultra-thin plastic shopping bags with a thickness less than 0.025 mm, polyethylene agricultural mulch films with a thickness less than 0.01 mm, and disposable foam plastic tableware are prohibited. , disposable plastic cotton swabs, daily chemical products containing plastic microbeads, and plastic products made from medical waste. Shopping malls, supermarkets, bazaars, catering companies, etc. are prohibited from providing non-degradable plastic bags, disposable plastic tableware, disposable Plastic straws, hotel disposables, express plastic packaging and other plastic products. Farmers’ markets, shopping malls, warehousing, logistics and other related operators should set signs prohibiting or restricting the use of non-degradable disposable plastic products in prominent locations on their business premises.

“The legislation on plastic ban and restriction does not ban all non-degradable plastic products, but in accordance with the provisions of higher laws and relevant national policies, bans and restrictions are imposed on some non-degradable disposable plastic products that are large in volume and wide in scope and easy to replace.” Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee Law Li Zhe, director of the Working Committee, said: “The legislation on plastic ban and restriction has attracted a lot of attention from the society. According to the specific situation and actual needs of Henan, we have dealt with the four aspects of ban and sparing, industrial cultivation and transformation, production and use, and recyclability and biodegradability. The relationship between all aspects shall be implemented throughout the legislative process, and there shall be no ‘one size fits all’ approach, but first sparing and then banning, and a combination of ban and sparse.”

In response to the problem of white pollution caused by agricultural mulch films, the “Regulations” also require that agricultural films should be produced and sold in accordance with relevant national standards, and users are not allowed to discard, bury or burn non-biodegradable agricultural film waste at will.

Actively promote the application of alternative products and promote the reduction of disposable plastic products

According to the “Regulations”, people’s governments at or above the county level should formulate policies and measures to support the development of the industry of recyclable, easily recyclable, and degradable alternative materials and products; provide financial funds, tax revenue to alternative material and product production enterprises, and waste plastic recycling enterprises Support in terms of preferential treatment, government procurement, green credit, talent introduction, etc. State agencies, state-owned enterprises and institutions should purchase and use recyclable, easily recyclable, and degradable alternative products, encourage the public to use environmentally friendly cloth bags, paper bags, and other alternative products, and reduce the use of non-degradable disposable plastic products.

“In July this year, the provincial government organized relevant departments to conduct a comprehensive survey of the degradable materials industry in our province. Judging from the survey, the production of degradable materials in our province already has a good foundation in Puyang, Zhoukou, Luohe, Hebi, Nanyang and other places , it has certain advantages in the upstream basic raw materials, midstream modified materials and terminal products, and has initially formed a relatively complete industrial chain. The upstream, midstream and downstream include Zhoukou Jindan, Jiyuan Hengtong, Puyang Longdu Tianren, and Zhongke New Materials. , Hebi Techuang and other large-scale enterprises. According to estimates, according to the current national plastic ban and restriction catalog, the overall supply and demand for disposable non-degradable plastic products in the province is basically balanced. Existing and under-construction production can meet market demand and achieve stable substitution. .” said Chang Jihong, deputy director of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.

Illegal production and sales of plastic products on the banned list will be punished in accordance with the law

Anyone who violates the “Regulations” by producing or selling non-biodegradable plastic products on the prohibited list shall be ordered by the market supervision department to stop production and sales, confiscate the illegal products, and impose a fine; operators who use or provide illegal biodegradable plastic products will be punished in accordance with the regulations. The relevant provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste shall impose penalties. The government and relevant departments will establish a reporting acceptance and handling mechanism and announce the reporting methods to the public. Any unit or individual can report relevant illegal activities.

“The “Regulations” set up a one-year transition period, during which no penalties will be imposed for violations.” The relevant person in charge of the Provincial Environmental Protection Association suggested that disposable plastic product manufacturers should make good use of the transition period for the implementation of regulations and actively transform into recyclable, In the direction of the development of products made of easily recyclable and biodegradable alternative materials, the National People’s Congress, the government and relevant departments must strengthen the publicity and implementation of plastic ban and restriction regulations, guide the whole society to pay attention to and participate in white pollution control, and reduce the use of plastic products.