--- title: "China Announces Plan to Ban Single-Use Plastics" description: "Earlier this month, China announced a new five-year plan to eventually ban single-use plastic waste in the entire country." date: "2020-01-28" modified: "2020-01-28" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-plan-single-use-plastics" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "china" - "plastic ban" - "plastic waste" - "the digest" --- # China Announces Plan to Ban Single-Use Plastics ![Earlier this month, China announced a new five-year plan to eventually ban single-use plastic waste in the entire country.]() *\Image: Images via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\* ## Waste Not Earlier this month, China announced a five-year plan to ban single-use plastic waste in the entire country. The proposal would prohibit the sale of disposable foam, plastic tableware, and many other products, [according to *The New York Times*](). Sources familiar with the plans told the *Times* that plastic garbage will be banned in large cities including Beijing and Shanghai by the end of 2022, following with the rest of the country by late 2025. ## Catch Up It's an extremely ambitious timeline, considering China is the [number one]() global creator of plastic waste, as [*Electrek* reports](). Meanwhile, the US [still leads]() in per capita plastic waste creation — and [refused to join]() a United Nations agreement in May to add plastic waste to the Basel Convention, a legal framework to reduce plastic waste. ## Reduce Reuse The news comes after Beijing [banned the import of recycling materials in 2018](), causing [recyclables in the United States and elsewhere to be sent to landfills]() instead. While the ban is being heralded as an important step, the proposal will likely be met with criticism by Chinese manufacturers — and particularly online retailers, according to the *Times*. China wouldn't be the first international power to introduce sweeping anti-plastic measures. In March, the European parliament [voted]() to support plans for the [elimination of most uses of single-use plastic](), ranging from cutlery and straws to coffee stirrers and plastic plates. **READ MORE:** [China has a plan to ban single-use plastics — and the US doesn’t]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on plastic waste:** *[United States Refuses to Join Plastic Waste Pact]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()