China’s Plastic Bag Ban Makes Slow Progress

China’s Plastic Bag Ban Makes Slow Progress

Posted on June 13, 2011 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste News

The Chinese government launched a nationwide ban on non-biodegradable ultra-thin (thinner than 0.025 mm) plastic bags and forbade supermarkets and shops from handing out free carriers from June 1, 2008. Thicker and more durable plastic bags are still being made available, but customers should pay for them.

A blogger wrote that a few weeks after the act was implemented, the biggest plastic bag manufacturer went broke, leaving over 20,000 people unemployed. It seems that the social cost of banning plastic bags is huge in China, but what if society as a whole in fact gains more than loses? Let’s see how the ban really works.

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