Plastic straws will be banned by the end of the year. Why will plastic straws be banned?

Plastic straws to be banned by the end of the year

According to media reports, the newly revised "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste" will come into effect on September 1 this year, stipulating that by the end of 2020, the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws will be banned in the catering industry nationwide.

According to the regulations, those who fail to comply with the national regulations on prohibiting or restricting the use of non-degradable plastic bags and other disposable plastic products will be fined between 10,000 and 100,000 yuan. Driven by mandatory policy regulations and the leadership of some companies, more and more companies are joining the plastic restriction campaign.

It is understood that the average cost of a plastic straw is about 0.03 yuan, and that of a paper straw is about 0.1 yuan. Paper straws are not only more expensive, but the user experience also needs to be optimized. However, some industry insiders and experts also said that with breakthrough innovations in new materials and new technologies, it is not difficult to find an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic straws.

Liu Jianguo, a professor at the School of Environment at Tsinghua University, said that plastic straws can be replaced with degradable bioplastics, or with recyclable products such as paper or bamboo, plant straw, glass, and metal.

It is reported that on June 30, McDonald's China announced that it will gradually stop using plastic straws, and the new straw-free cup lid will be unveiled for the first time. There are currently more than 3,500 McDonald's restaurants in mainland China, and the average annual usage of plastic straws is about 400 tons. Relevant plastic reduction measures will cover mainland China by 2020.

Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, announced in 2018 that it would stop using plastic straws worldwide this year. Previously, Starbucks' annual consumption of plastic straws in China was around 200 tons.

In addition, on food delivery platforms, many restaurants have added the options of "no plastic straws" and "replace plastic straws with paper straws" to encourage consumers to reduce the use of plastic straws.

Data shows that the cumulative output of plastic products in the country in 2019 was 81.84 million tons, of which nearly 30,000 tons were plastic straws, equivalent to about 46 billion straws, with an average per capita consumption of more than 30 straws. Industry experts say that plastic straws are only used for a few minutes but may take up to 500 years to degrade, making them difficult to recycle.