Shenyang clears "white pollution" paper bags instead of plastic bags

One day, when you go to the supermarket to buy something, when you come out, you will be holding a big paper bag in your arms instead of the plastic bag that is commonplace today. With the promulgation of local regulations on prohibiting the production, sale, and use of ultra-thin plastic bags in Shenyang at the end of May, the city will soon “shut down” ultrathin plastic bags with a thickness of 0.06 mm or less. This shows the determination of Shenyang to say "no" to "white pollution."
The pollution of plastic bags has severely eliminated "white pollution" and prevented the plastic bags from floating in the streets of Shenyang City. It is an imminent event for Shenyang.
At present, Shenyang consumes nearly 15,000 tons of plastic convenience bags every year, about 3 billion, of which ultra-thin plastic bags account for more than 80%. According to the survey, a large-scale supermarket uses 400,000 to 600,000 plastic convenience bags each month. The thickness of plastic bags used by Carrefour, Maima, Tesco, etc. is mostly 0.04 to 0.06 mm, and the plastic bags sold in the bazaars are large. Some are ultrathin plastic bags with a thickness of 0.06 mm or less.
The abandonment of large quantities of plastic packaging bags has caused great pollution hazards to the urban environment. The entrance to the city, the urban-rural junction, near the landfill, and the markets around the morning and evening are the most serious areas of “white pollution” in Shenyang. Especially in the spring and autumn of the wind season, ultra-thin plastic bags “fly around” causing “visual pollution”. The Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau carried out a sample survey on the vicinity of the simple discharge site of the rubbish-tiger waste, and found that millions of waste plastic bags were piled on the fields and the surrounding trees on both sides of the road. "White pollution" is also seen everywhere in the greenery of the street market in the city, in non-main street and residential areas, and in the corners of the park.
In an interview with the reporter, Shi Qijin, head of the Shenyang Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, said that there are three main reasons for the “white pollution” in Mancheng: First, more than 2,000 tons of domestic garbage generated in the city every day are thrown indiscriminately in the urban entrances and exits and the urban-rural junctions. Simple stacking, so that a large number of ultra-thin plastic bags rise with the wind to form a "tree hanging" of the "visual pollution"; Second, poor management of landfills, garbage can not be timely compacted coverage, resulting in the dispersion of plastic bags; Third, due to Individual garbage collections in the early and late trade markets were not thorough, and environmental sanitation supervision and management were not in place. After that, ultra-thin plastic bags were discarded everywhere.
In fact, the impact of "white pollution" on the environment not only stays on the "visual" level. After the plastic bags are aged, they are not easily degraded in nature, causing land consolidation and affecting crop growth. It has been tested that plastic bags buried in the ground for more than 200 years can rot and pollute the soil. The harmful smoke and toxic gases produced by burning will cause pollution to the atmosphere. At the same time, some plastic bags on the market used to package snacks and foods contain styrene and other toxic components, which seriously endanger human health.
Awareness measures should be strengthened. October 24 last year was the 100th birthday of plastic bags. In the environmental protection product selection campaign conducted by the European Environmental Protection Organization that year, plastic bags were rated as the worst inventions of humans in the 20th century.
In fact, most people have realized the danger of "white pollution." However, many people frankly stated that although plastic bags are not a good thing, governments and environmental groups in various countries are calling for people to use less or not, but because people are accustomed to the ease of use of plastic bags, it is not difficult to discard them now. Many consumers believe that plastic bags are free, and why can't others use them? In the final analysis, it is because of the weak environmental awareness of some people that plastic bags can flourish.
At present, domestic cities such as Tianjin and Dalian have incorporated ultra-thin plastic bags into the scope of treatment. However, the treatment effect is not satisfactory. They can only control large supermarkets and shopping malls, and have poor control over the bazaars and retail markets. It can be seen that the management of “white pollution” cannot be achieved by a single administrative order. In addition to strengthening its citizens' quality education and regulating their behavior, on the other hand, they must use economic levers to guide people's behavior. In an interview with reporters, environmental protection experts pointed out: With the government's ban, abandoning plastic packaging bags and switching to paper packaging bags also require efforts to adjust the industrial structure and formulate game rules. The relevant departments will be responsible for introducing new technologies. Select a batch of paper packaging production enterprises to provide support in terms of policy, and the formation of economies of scale, so that paper packaging gradually replace plastic packaging; In addition, the establishment of a recycling and recycling system to ensure the recovery of biodegradable plastic and paper packaging bags.
Environmental experts also introduced that Ireland imposed a tax of 15 euro per plastic bag to reduce the frequency of people using plastic bags, which has reduced the use of plastic bags in the country by 90%. Germany's shopping malls and supermarkets are equipped with large and small plastic bags for customers to choose from, but they are not free to give but to charge, and the price is expensive, because consumers use plastic bags cause environmental pollution, it is necessary to bear a certain Governance costs. Today, the Germans go shopping for food and shopping on the street, mostly carrying bamboo baskets or cloth bags, which greatly reduces the use of plastic bags.