New York State officials have announced that they will postpone the plastic ban that was originally implemented from April 1 and will not enforce the plastic ban until May 15.
The postponement of the plastic ban means that during the New Coronavirus epidemic, New Yorkers can still use disposable plastic bags when shopping.
The American Recyclable Plastic Bags Alliance (ARPBA) said in a statement earlier that plastic products, including disposable plastic bags and plastic bottles, play a key role in preventing the spread of bacteria and viruses, and the current extension of the epidemic ban The decision to enforce the law is appreciated.
The ban impacts the small winery industry in New York and the livelihoods of low-income residents
In fact, the New York State Plastics Prohibition Order originally took effect on March 1 (some packaging, including prescription drugs, was exempted). After the ban on plastics came into effect, many supermarkets, pharmacies and other businesses have begun to stop the supply of plastic bags, and instead provide paid paper bags or environmentally friendly bags that can be used multiple times.
To help businesses and the public transition, the New York State government has announced a delay of one month's enforcement period until April 1 to allow businesses to consume previously stored plastic bags.
Subsequently, because the local companies in New York filed a lawsuit, claiming that they have not prepared for the ban, the government extended the execution period to mid-April.
The current epidemic situation is grim and plastic has become a key consumable for various epidemic prevention materials. New York State has to postpone the plastic ban again.
California and Hawaii have enforced plastic bag bans, but in New York, due to strong lobbying from the plastics industry and considering the impact of plastic bans on the livelihoods of low-income residents, the state’s plastic bans have been delayed.
It is reported that New Yorkers consume approximately 23 billion disposable plastic bags each year. About 85% of the plastic bags are eventually discarded in streets, landfills, waterways or recycled.
The new law aims to use fast-turn alternatives: businesses provide paper bags to customers and need to charge customers 5 cents for environmental protection; or businesses provide reusable environmental bags that can be used at least 125 times. The authorities also stated that there will be an indefinite grace period for the plastic ban. Once fully implemented, merchants will be warned if they violate the ban for the first time, and they will be fined $250 if they violate the order again.
Frank Garcia of the Latino National Chamber of Commerce recently said in a protest held at the City Hall that the implementation of the plastic ban would hurt many small wineries in New York. "They will not survive." He said.
There are approximately 13,000 wineries in New York City, and many wineries are scrambling to find alternatives to find a solution before the ban is imposed. Due to the insufficient supply of paper bags, some merchants have no bags available.
It is reported that New York's plastic ban has made a series of exemptions. For example, the use of disposable plastic bags is allowed for packaging of fresh fish and meat, bulk vegetables or grains, newspapers, dry cleaning services, and food delivery and express delivery. New Yorkers can still buy plastic garbage bags, which reportedly may lead to increased sales.
Japan's first ban on disposable plastic bags introduced or delayed due to epidemic
The Kameoka City Council of Kyoto Prefecture in western Japan issued a plastic ban on Tuesday, prohibiting local retailers from providing consumers with disposable plastic shopping bags (whether free or required to pay), this is the first time such measures have been issued in Japan.
This decree of Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2021. The decree will also prohibit the supply of paper bags and other biodegradable bags.
Violators will face regulatory inspections and warnings, and from June 1, 2021, the list of merchants who do not comply with the law will be made public.
The Kameoka City Government originally planned to put the decree into effect in August this year, but after companies sought a grace period, the effective date of the decree was postponed.
It is reported that if the new coronavirus epidemic continues, the municipal government will consider further postponing the implementation date.
In addition, from July this year, the Japanese government will require retailers nationwide to charge consumers for plastic shopping bags.
Hainan's first batch of "plastic bans" list released, will be implemented from December 1 this year
The Hainan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment recently announced that the "List of Prohibited Production and Use of Disposable Non-Degradable Plastic Products in Hainan Province (First Batch)" (hereinafter referred to as the "List") has been agreed by the provincial people's government and will be in December 2020 Implemented on the 1st.
The "List" includes disposable non-degradable plastic bags and tableware in 2 categories, and 10 sub-categories of disposable non-degradable plastic products are included in the scope of plastic bans, in the form of a negative list that explicitly prohibits the production, sale and use of disposable non-degradable plastic products Types, mainly including: containing polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), ethylene terephthalate (PET) and other non-biodegradable polymer materials, disposable films, bags and tableware.
4 types of film bags:
Shopping bag: refers to the bag products that meet the requirements of "GB/T 21661-2008 Plastic Shopping Bag" and are used to hold and carry goods in sales and service places, mainly including plastic bags with daily mouth such as vest bags .
Plastic bags for daily use: refer to non-lifting bag products such as continuous roll bags and flat bags made by heat sealing or bonding that meet the requirements of "GB/T 24984-2010 Daily Plastic Bags" standard, mainly including Shangchao is used for plastic bags without lifting mouth, such as continuous roll bags and flat bags for bulk goods.
Paper-plastic composite packaging bag: refers to the light-weight packaging bag that meets the requirements of the "BB/T 0039-2013 retail retail packaging bag" standard and is used to hold retail goods for easy portability. The material is made of paper and plastic. , Takeaway packaging.
Garbage bags: Refers to the plastic garbage bags made by heat sealing or bonding processes that meet the requirements of the GB/T 24454-2009 Plastic Garbage Bags standard.
6 categories of tableware:
Refers to appliances that are intended for dining or similar purposes that comply with the "GB18006.1-2009 General Technical Requirements for Plastic Disposable Tableware" standard, including disposable meal boxes (including lids), bowls (including lids), dishes, plates, and beverage cups (Including cover), straws, etc., mainly related to the catering and takeaway industries.
It is important to point out that the prohibited film bags and tableware do not contain commodity pre-packaging. Pre-packaged products such as instant noodles, jelly, yogurt, etc.
It is reported that the current requirements for alternatives mainly include reusable products, fully biodegradable plastic products, cloth products, paper products and biomass products (including bagasse, bamboo fiber and starch). It should be emphasized that the biomass products must not contain non-degradable plastic components, otherwise it will also not comply with the regulations.
In addition, in order to facilitate the public to distinguish in the daily use process, Hainan Province is about to release the "General Biodegradable Plastic Products General Technical Requirements", to make conceptual specifications for all biodegradable plastics and their products, and guide relevant production and sales enterprises to follow the above Standards for production and sales activities.
All biodegradable plastic products produced and sold in Hainan require electronic supervision codes (two-dimensional codes) and product component marks to be marked on the product packaging.
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