24 bln plastic bags avoided in the past three years
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24 bln plastic bags avoided in the past three years |
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced yesterday China's war on "white pollution" has indeed been fruitful.
Statistics show that consumers used 24 billion less plastic bags in the past three years, which equals a decrease of 600,000 tons of plastic consumption, a savings of more than 3.6 million tons of petroleum. Likewise, the figure represents a reduction of about 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere.
According to Li Jing, vice-director of the department of resource conservation and environmental protection within the NDRC, the amount of plastic bags used by supermarkets nationwide fell by about two-thirds.
Currently, supermarkets, department stores and grocery stores have almost stopped providing super-thin plastic shopping bags to customers.
On June 1, 2008, in a bid to reduce energy consumption and pollution, all Chinese retailers, including supermarkets, department stores and groceries, were banned from providing free plastic shopping bags.
In addition, ultra-thin plastic bags, or those with sides thinner than 0.025 mm, were entirely banned. Customers instead are required to buy bags for about 0.5 yuan (8 cents).
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