The National Development and Reform Commission has made it clear that the use of such chemicals will be completely stopped before the end of 2021

National Development and Reform Commission described "degradable" for the first time

The "Public Institutions Stop Using Non-degradable Disposable Plastic Products List (First Batch)" clearly stated that the use of non-degradable disposable plastic lunch boxes, non-degradable disposable plastic plastic tableware, non-degradable disposable plastic straws, disposable plastic water cups and Drink cups, ultra-thin plastic shopping bags with a thickness of less than 0.

In other words, PE , PP , PS , PVC , EVA , PET are all non-biodegradable polymer materials.

This is the first time that the National Development and Reform Commission has described "degradable", and it is also the first time that "non-degradable" has been clarified in the form of a negative list.

The battle for degradation routes lasted for a whole year

National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Ecology Environment 2020 Nian 1 Yue 19 days "on further strengthening the plastic pollution of opinions" ( 80 No text) to be developed over the country, the implementation of the provisions of plastics pollution control guidance documents.

Circular 80 requires the development and promotion of plastic products and alternative products that meet the standard, green and environmentally friendly, and economical and suitable for recycling, easy recycling, and degradability.
Gradually implement biodegradable plastic bags, biodegradable disposable plastic tableware, biodegradable express plastic packaging, biodegradable plastic film, etc.
in phases and regions.

However, Circular 80 does not provide a further definition of " degradable " , which has also led to inconsistent or even very different documents and industry standards issued by local governments, associations, and industry alliances.

In various WeChat groups or offline forums, the debate about degradation routes sometimes even reaches the point of tension.

The choice of big capital: biodegradable materials

In this regard, Ji Junhui, a researcher at the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that the standards implemented by various provinces are now different, and the quality requirements are inconsistent between provinces, which will have a fatal blow to the industry.

The industry Ji Junhui refers to is the biodegradable plastic industry.
According to the Institute of biodegradable materials statistics, as of 2021 Nian 2 Yue, PBAT already under construction, planned production capacity of nearly 700 million tons, the PLA has been under construction, planned production capacity of over 400 tons, involving tens of billions of funds Even hundreds of billions of dollars.

Institute of biodegradable material .
1 January that a plastic bag made costing (calculated feed portion only), a conventional PE only 8200 membered / ton, with PE + starch cost about 6900 membered / ton, with a cost of about degradation agent .
1 million yuan / Ton, the cost of using biodegradable plastic is 18,000 .

In comparison with the cost, it is obvious that this is a life-and-death market, where you do not have me.
If PE+ starch and degradants are allowed to circulate in the market, there will be no way for biodegradable materials to go.
An investment of tens of billions of dollars is no different.
Soak in water.

What is a public institution? Why a public institution

Public institutions refer to state agencies, institutions and organizations that use fiscal funds in whole or in part.
Such as government agencies at all levels, institutions, hospitals, schools, cultural, sports, and technological venues.

On November 25 last year , Sichuan (except Hainan) took the lead, requiring provincial departments and public institutions to prohibit the use of disposable plastic products containing traditional plastics such as PE , PP , PS , PVC , and EVA .

The State Administration of Management, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Development and Reform Commission are now issuing documents requiring public institutions to stop using non-degradable disposable plastic products before the end of 2021 .

Such a decision may be made by government departments and public service agencies to take the lead in demonstrating.
The next step is to promote it according to the situation.

So why not implement all biodegradable standards across the board? The answer is that the production capacity cannot keep up.
The implementation of full degradation in Hainan alone, the insufficient supply of production capacity on the island, seeks supply from outside the island, leading to soaring prices.
The Chinese market demand is huge, and biodegradable materials are relatively short.
Recently, even BASF in Germany has increased its biodegradable materials by 350 Euro / ton.

Institute of biodegradable material had 1 Yue 21 Ri analysts believe is likely that some key cities, key industries, the big brands, supermarkets, public institutions leading the implementation biodegradable, small businesses, suburban, rural half of the implementation of degradation.
As for the intensity of law enforcement, it should be relatively relaxed, guided mainly, grasp the rhythm, and proceed in an orderly manner.

This time window is likely to be the end of 2021 .
By then, the new version of the national standard GB/T 20197-202X , the definition of degradable plastics, should have landed.

Prior to this, some policy makers have been concerned about "degradability".
They have issued documents that cherish ink as gold, rather than indiscriminately, let enterprises and associations test the waters and let the market test them.
This time, with the guidance of the three departments, the follow-up plastic pollution control may be relevant.
There are clearer measures.
With public institutions as the vane, some companies that pay attention to brand image will also take the initiative to move closer to full degradation.

In addition, some people in the industry believe that the central region will implement full biodegradation first, and the coastal regions will follow up.

It seems that there is not much time left for the market to buffer.