In a move aimed at protecting the environment, Shenzhen City in south China’s Guangdong Province is considering to pass an ordinance to end free use of plastic shopping bags supplied by retailers which had been in vogue for almost three decades.
The city’s legislative affairs office has been eliciting views on a revised draft of an environmental protection regulation which stipulates that retailers will be fined from $667 to $6,667 if they provide free plastic bags or fail to provide environment-friendly shopping bags or reusable baskets.
Zeng Suisheng, chief of the economic laws and regulations section of Shenzhen’s legislative affairs office, said the draft Environmental Protection Regulation has been posted on the city’s website and he has written to more than 40 departments to seek their views, reports Chinawire.
The environmental protection department has defended its proposal by listing statistics on the environmental impact of plastic bags.
The department stated that retailers across Shenzhen use at least 1.75 billion plastic bags each year. Most of those bags would decompose only after 200 years and some never would, the department said.
Some industry experts welcomed the proposal as a contrast to previous moves that amounted to lecturing consumers.
“The use of plastic bags can be reduced in an efficient way with economic incentives, as consumers must bear the cost when shopping,” a department statement said.
Dong Jinshi, deputy chairman of the professional committee of plastic recycling with the China Plastic Production Industry Association (CPPIA), firmly supported Shenzhen’s efforts.
“Shenzhen City should urgently investigate and pilot the use of plastic bag substitutes and ensure a stable supply of reliable, reasonably priced substitutes,” said Dong.
“Shenzhen could pave the way for other Chinese cities in tackling white pollution.”
However, the free distribution of plastic bags, which was introduced in Guangdong province in the early 1980s, is taken for granted by many customers as a convenience retailers are supposed to offer.
In a survey jointly carried out last week of 1,786 people by the Social Surveys Center of China Youth Daily and the press center of Sina.com, 73.9 percent of the respondents supported Shenzhen’s plan and favored the paid use of plastic bags in their localities.
Also, 92.5 percent said they were willing to shoulder inconveniences to protect the environment, while 50.7 percent recommended incentives to get people to switch, instead of imposing fines.
Some retailers in Shenzhen have started to prepare for the charges.
