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塑料污染防治是国合会高度关注议题之一。从2017年开始，国合会相继开展了海洋污染防治、绿色城镇化、绿色消费等专题政策研究。在合作伙伴的大力支持下，依托相关研究和国际先进经验，向中国政府提出了关于塑料污染防治的政策建议，得到中国政府高度重视。2018年11月14日，中国和加拿大发表了《中华人民共和国政府和加拿大政府关于应对海洋垃圾和塑料的联合声明》以及近期中国政府颁布的《关于进一步加强塑料污染治理的意见》都体现了国合会的积极贡献。

近日，国家发展改革委、生态环境部印发的《关于进一步加强塑料污染治理的意见》，进一步加强塑料污染治理，明确了禁塑、限塑期限，电商、外卖等新兴领域也在其中。在禁限部分塑料用品的同时，还提出要推广应用替代产品和模式，规范塑料废弃物回收利用，方便群众生活。

具体来看，不少治理举措与百姓日常生活息息相关。比如：

到2020年底，

禁止生产和销售一次性发泡塑料餐具、一次性塑料棉签；

禁止生产含塑料微珠的日化产品；

全国范围餐饮行业禁止使用不可降解一次性塑料吸管。

到2022年底，

全国范围星级宾馆、酒店等场所不再主动提供一次性塑料用品等。

《意见》提出要按照“禁限一批、替代循环一批、规范一批”的思路，推进三项主要任务。

一是禁止生产销售超薄塑料购物袋、超薄聚乙烯农用地膜。禁止以医疗废物为原料制造塑料制品。全面禁止废塑料进口。分步骤禁止生产销售一次性发泡塑料餐具、一次性塑料棉签、含塑料微珠的日化产品。分步骤、分领域禁止或限制使用不可降解塑料袋、一次性塑料制品、快递塑料包装等。

二是研发推广绿色环保的塑料制品及替代产品，探索培育有利于规范回收和循环利用、减少塑料污染的新业态新模式。

三是加强塑料废弃物分类回收清运，规范塑料废弃物资源化利用和无害化处置，开展塑料垃圾专项清理。

《意见》指出要完善塑料污染治理工作的支撑保障体系。

一是将塑料污染防治纳入相关法律要求，及时制定完善相关法规制度和标准。

二是完善相关政策措施，加大对塑料制品减量、替代产品推广、新型模式培育、回收利用处置等方面的支持力度。

三是强化科技支撑，加大塑料污染环境风险评价、替代产品技术研发等攻关力度。

四是加强日常管理和监督检查，严格落实禁止、限制生产、销售和使用部分塑料制品的政策措施。推行生态环境保护综合执法，依法查处相关违法违规行为。

《意见》要求强化组织实施，形成推进塑料污染治理的工作合力。

各有关部门要建立塑料污染治理专项工作机制，及时总结分析工作进展，重大情况和问题向党中央、国务院报告。开展联合专项行动，强化督促检查，重点问题纳入中央生态环境保护督察。各地要精心组织安排，制定具体实施办法，实化细化政策措施。加大对塑料污染治理的宣传力度，广泛凝聚共识，营造全社会共同参与的良好氛围。

The prevention of plastic pollution has become a topic of high concern for the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED). Since 2017, the CCICED has conducted many Special Policy Studies on marine pollution prevention and control, green urbanization, and green consumption.

With the support of its partners, and drawing upon its relevant research and advanced international experience, the CCICED made a proposal on preventing plastic pollution to the Chinese government, which attached much importance to it.

China and Canada made a joint statement on marine litter and plastics at a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Singapore on November 14, 2018.

Moreover, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued a document on January 19, 2020 urging reduction in the nationwide use of single-use, non-degradable plastics and parcel packaging in the next five years. Both the joint statement and the document demonstrate the positive contributions made by the CCICED to environmental protection.

Modern life would be unrecognizable without plastics, but the dark side of the convenience they bring cannot be ignored. It is estimated that the annual global production of plastics will hit nearly 1 billion tons by 2050, double the figure in 2015.

Cartoon: Cai Meng/China Daily

However, after being used for a short time — to be precise, 12 minutes on average for each of the 5 trillion single-used plastic bags consumed each year — most of the plastic products will be dumped. They will persist in nature for years before breaking into granules and becoming part of the food chains.

That's why the document China issued on January 19 on curbing plastic pollution is a welcome one.

The country will gradually restrict or ban the production, sales and use of certain plastics while promoting their degradable, recycle-friendly alternatives,according to the document issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

By 2025, China expects to effectively control plastic pollution, substantially reduce the amount of plastic waste in landfills of key cities, establish a complete plastics management system and make progress in the development of alternative products, said the document.

The production and sales of single-use foam plastic tableware and plastic swabs will be banned by the end of 2020. Production of daily chemicals containing plastic microbeads, production will be banned by 2020 while their sales will stop by 2022.

The document also reiterates prohibitions on the production and use of thin plastic bags and polyethylene agricultural films, as well as on the production of plastic products with medical waste and imports of plastic waste.

The document has set step-by-step timetables for the next five years to reduce the use of single-use, non-degradable plastics and parcel packaging.

For instance, non-degradable single-use plastic straws will be banned by the end of 2020, while non-degradable single-use plastic tableware will be banned from dining-in in cities. By the end of 2022, the ban on plastic tableware will be extended to dining-in in rural areas.

By the end of 2025, the use of non-degradable single-use plastic tableware for take-out in cities should be cut by 30 percent, according to the document.

Moreover, all hotels and guesthouses should stop using single-use plastic wares by 2025, while postal and express service outlets should cease using non-degradable plastic packaging, plastic tape and single-use plastic woven bags.

A girl throws a plastic bottle into a garbage can in Chongqing, Southwest China, July 4, 2019. [Xinhua]

In the meantime, China will encourage the use of alternative materials such as non-plastic products and degradable shopping bags and urge efforts in the recycling and disposal of plastic wastes, the document said.