The second series of reports on "What's stopping the city's low-carbon footsteps":
  [EP Environmental Network Report] In 2008, China promulgated the "plastic restriction order", which can be described as shaking up domestic and foreign countries in one fell swoop. However, the innate shortcomings of the law made its role inevitably show a gradual shrinking trend. Even if relevant departments continue to publish statistics on how many plastic bags are saved, the free plastic bags are still readily available in farmers’ markets, mobile vendors, restaurants, pharmacies, etc., so that people with a discerning eye can always understand: "plastic limit order" In the end, I'm afraid it just saved the supermarket a few small costs.
 

There are free plastic bags everywhere except supermarkets
  In the first half month of China's "plastic restriction order" in June 2008, people across the country worked hard to accumulate plastic bags, fearing that after the "plastic restriction order" began, there would be no free plastic bags available. However, when the "plastic restriction order" was implemented, people gradually stabilized, because the expected "plastic bag shortage" did not appear in the market. In fact, except for supermarkets that began to "sell" non-ultra-thin shopping plastic bags, people have gradually stabilized. Do you want to get one or two plastic bags or it is easy:
  There are still enough plastic bags to buy vegetables at the farmers’ market. No matter how many you want, the sellers are happy to provide them. Isn’t it a bit thinner than the supermarket? It’s okay, it’s enough to go home to put garbage;
  Go to a restaurant to eat and pack the rest of the food. No restaurant opens its mouth to customers for a few plastic bags and asks for money;
  When shopping at the clothing market, the salesperson always packs the clothes in the familiar shopping bags and hands them to the customers. The clothes are not high-end or food. Consumers know that this kind of plastic bags are ultra-thin and poisonous, so they don’t mind. ；
  Even if you go to a pharmacy to buy medicine, if there are too many things to take, the pharmacy will provide you with one or two free plastic bags...
  After all, after China's "plastic restriction order" was implemented, no place other than supermarkets would be hypocritical with customers because of a few plastic bags. Even in supermarkets, after the implementation of the "plastic restriction order", those hand-tearable roll-to-roll bags used to hold bulk goods are still provided to customers free of charge. Although there is no easy-to-carry handle, as long as the journey is not far away, such Plastic bags are enough.
 

90% of China's plastic bags do not flow out of supermarkets
  When the “Plastic Restriction Order” was launched in 2008, the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection of the National Development and Reform Commission pointed out that each year, China’s supermarkets, department stores, vegetable farms, and fruit stalls require 1.6 million tons of plastic for plastic bags. Plastics need to consume more than 3 tons of oil, and the country’s annual production of plastic bags consumes more than 4.8 million tons of oil.
  Therefore, "plastic limit" is an indispensable part of energy conservation and emission reduction, but it is a pity that China's "plastic limit order" has shown innate deficiencies since its birth. Dong Jinshi, executive vice president of the International Food Packaging Association and one of the initiators of the "plastic restriction order", said in an interview with the "Daily Business News" in 2010: "Before the implementation of the "plastic restriction order", the amount of plastic bags used nationwide was About 1 billion pieces per day. After the implementation of the'plastic restriction order', shopping bags in supermarkets and shopping malls basically meet the requirements in terms of thickness and marking. However, the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and shopping malls only accounts for the total amount of plastic bags used. About 10%, and the remaining 90% of plastic bags are consumed by wholesale farmers’ markets, small commodity wholesale markets and street stalls, and these areas usually use substandard plastic bags.”
 

Plastic Restriction Order reports that there are more mourning songs than happy tunes every year
  Since the "plastic limit order" was promulgated, every period of time has passed, there will be certain official data to illustrate its results. According to data released by the National Development and Reform Commission in May 2011, since the implementation of the “plastic restriction order” three years ago, the use of plastic shopping bags in major retail stores across the country has decreased by more than 24 billion, and the cumulative reduction of plastic consumption by 600,000 tons is equivalent. This saves 3.6 million tons of oil, equivalent to more than 5 million tons of standard coal, and reduces more than 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
  Although these figures have brought some comfort to people, especially for those consumers who are more environmentally conscious and have always brought their own shopping bags to shop. But it is undeniable that every year when the "plastic limit order" is approaching its birthday, there will always be negative reports constantly reminding the limitations of its effect.
  In 2010, when the "plastic restriction order" was implemented for two years, the "China Daily" commented: "As Beijing residents are accustomed to charging for plastic bags, the use of plastic bags has increased two years after the "plastic restriction order" was implemented. Trends"; "Daily Economic News" published a report pointed out: "900 million illegal plastic bags are in circulation every day, and the plastic restriction order is a dead letter."
  In 2011, on the third anniversary of the "plastic restriction order", Singapore's "Straits Times" reported that thin and light plastic bags are still a major problem for China. Facts have proved that government regulations cannot eliminate such thin and light shopping bags. The report interviewed Yang Weihe, head of the waste project of the Huanyou Science and Technology Research Center, who pointed out that "supermarkets are now less enthusiastic about implementing the ban than before. The policy was implemented best in the first six months, especially during the Olympic Games. "In 2009, a survey conducted by Huanyou Technology in 6 cities showed that 80% of supermarkets require customers to spend money on plastic bags. But by 2010, only 60% of supermarkets were complying with the ban.
 

"Limiting plastic" is still a move for progress, the key lies in continuous improvement
  Of course, we cannot obliterate the positive effect of the "plastic restriction order". Although the effect of the "plastic restriction order" has been reversed, it has a certain positive effect on promoting environmental protection and increasing energy conservation and emission reduction efforts: surveys show that 40 % Of people will bring their own shopping bags when shopping, and this proportion was only 10% before the implementation of the policy.
  The congenital deficiencies of the "plastic limit order" have long been concerned by relevant departments. In 2011, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce once stated that the scope of restrictions on the use of plastic bags will be expanded to include restaurants, hospitals and other places. Because "the public's opinions are still to be solicited", although there is no specific timetable for the release. Any policy requires a process of continuous improvement, this process is a process of progress, I believe that in the future "plastic limit order" will be handed in a satisfactory answer. (EP Environmental Protection Network: Si Jie Deng Yanan)
 

Related reading: Other plastic restriction policies at home and abroad
  The Irish state imposes a tax of 15 Euro cents on each plastic bag. This tax has reduced the use of plastic bags in Ireland by 90%; Bangladesh has banned the use of plastic bags since March 2009. After the ban, there were 315 plastic bags nationwide. Bag manufacturers closed their doors, and the amount of plastic bags was reduced by 90%;
  Hong Kong implemented the Plastic Restriction Regulations in 2009. In the first stage, large stores with a single business area of ​​more than 200 square meters or chain stores with more than 5 stores will be covered. There are no requirements for third-party shopping malls that are difficult to manage;
  Taiwan implemented a plastic restriction policy in 2002. At first, it excluded the farmer’s market. Later, it was discovered that the catering industry’s implementation of plastic restrictions was also poor, because plastic bags were indeed required for take-out. Plastic bags are sold freely or provided to consumers free of charge, but the plastic bags are declared as waste to be recycled, and recycling and removal fees are imposed to increase the price of plastic bags and achieve the purpose of price-based quantity.