China Finally Bans All Use Of Plastic Straws And Single-Use Bags In 2021

YouMatter

2020 for China was a farewell to 200 million metric tons of plastic straws they had lying in their pollution inventory. This anticipated ban came into effect with two items that were heavily used in the country: plastic straws and single-use shopping bags. Other single-use plastics will be banned next. China is one of fewer than 10 countries that have finally banned the use of plastic straws in one go.

The ban was announced when the government talked about their new Five-Year Plan at the beginning of the year, of which includes the goal to reduce plastic pollution while starting the integration to biodegradable alternatives.


The plastic straw ban in China is more unique and impactful than other countries that have started this process and not because they are one of the most populous nations in the world. It is because paper and polylactic acid compound straws will be the replacement of plastic ones in the country’s favorite drink of choice – the tapioca pearl tea, otherwise know as milk tea, bubble tea or boba tea.

Chinese residents are in love with bubble tea which is the substitute for the Westerners morning coffee. This is drank using large and thicker plastic straws so that they can accommodate the size of the “bubbles,” or tapioca pearls in the straw.

Daxue Consulting

Back in 2018, about 500,000 different chains sold bubble tea in China. It was the most popular drink in the beverage market and its popularity rose 9.3% in 2020 to an estimate of $80 billion.

Fortunately, some bubble tea chains like Nayuki, located in Shanhai already made the switch early on and started giving out paper straws throughout 2020 in anticipation of the plastic ban that was scheduled for 2021.


Supermarkets in the country like Careful and RT Mart have also started replacing their single-use plastic bags with other alternatives like biodegradable bags, rentable baskets or reusable bags that can be purchased in the store.

A Chinese news agency reported that while biodegradable alternatives available in the market are more expensive, this plastic ban has seen the market share for bio-plastics at an ultimate high with the expectation of $7.3 billion rise by 2025, and a doubling of $13.9 billion by 2030. This suggests that the costs of plastic alternatives will have a rapid decrease once more businesses and entrepreneurs enter the market with new technologies and products.

 

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