Shenzhen City in south China's Guangdong Province is considering
passing an ordinance to end free use of plastic shopping bags
supplied by retailers.
The city's legislative affairs office has been soliciting
opinions on a revised draft of an environmental protection
regulation that would end the three-decade-long retail practice of
providing free plastic shopping bags.
The draft Environmental Protection Regulation stipulates that
retailers will be fined from 5,000 to 50,000 yuan (667 to 6,667
U.S. dollars) if they provide free plastic bags or fail to provide
environment-friendly shopping bags or reusable baskets.
Zeng Suisheng, chief of the economic laws and regulations
section of Shenzhen's legislative affairs office, said his office
had posted the draft on the city's website and had written to more
than 40 departments to seek opinions.
The environmental protection department has defended its
proposal by listing statistics on the environmental impact of
plastic bags.
The department stated that retailers across Shenzhen use at
least 1.75 billion plastic bags each year. Most of those bags would
decompose only after 200 years and some never would, the department
said.
Some industry experts welcomed the proposal as a contrast to
previous moves that amounted to lecturing consumers.
"The use of plastic bags can be reduced in an efficient way with
economic incentives, as consumers must bear the cost when
shopping," a department statement said.
Dong Jinshi, deputy chairman of the professional committee of
plastic recycling with the China Plastic Production Industry
Association (CPPIA), firmly supported Shenzhen's efforts.
"Shenzhen City should urgently investigate and pilot the use of
plastic bag substitutes and ensure a stable supply of reliable,
reasonably priced substitutes," said Dong.
"Shenzhen could pave the way for other Chinese cities in
tackling white pollution."
However, the free distribution of plastic bags, which was
introduced in Guangdong province in the early 1980s, is taken for
granted by many customers as a convenience retailers are supposed
to offer.
A woman surnamed Zhang, who was shopping at Wanfeng supermarket
in Futian District, said if the supermarket did not give free
plastic bags, she would be unable to carry home her groceries.
A local resident surnamed Ding described the city's move as an
act aiming at getting attention. "Shenzhen is a city with a
fast-moving lifestyle, who do you think will carry a basket for
shopping? It will be unimaginable to go to work by metro while
bringing a basket along," said Mr. Ding.
With prices having risen so fast, why did city authorities
insist on doing something that would add costs, asked another
resident, surnamed Zhong: "Why not let the business operators offer
degradable bags?"
One posting on Tencent.Com said the government should not just
impose fines but should spend more to encourage the public to use
fewer plastic bags or shift to environment-friendly
substitutes.
In a survey jointly carried out last week of 1,786 people by the
Social Surveys Center of China Youth Daily and the press
center of Sina.com, 73.9 percent of the respondents supported
Shenzhen's plan and favored the paid use of plastic bags in their
localities.
Also, 92.5 percent said they were willing to shoulder
inconveniences to protect the environment, while 50.7 percent
recommended incentives to get people to switch, instead of imposing
fines.
Some retailers in Shenzhen have started to prepare for the
charges.
Chen Songmei, manager of the cashiers' section with the Caifu
shop of Xinyijia General Merchandise Chainstore, said that he
believed charging for shopping bags would improve environmental
protection awareness.
Chen expressed confidence that Xinyijia's sales would not be
affected by charging for shopping bags, as the law would apply to
the entire retail sector. "Consumers will not stop shopping just
because they will have to pay extra for carrier bags," said
Chen.
Yu Qiuhua, publicity manager of Tianhong, another chain store,
said the group's stores had been giving away free degradable
plastic bags since 1994 and had also distributed about 100,000
cloth bags free of charge each year. Yu said the chain had no
immediate plan to charge for degradable bags, which are more
expensive than the plastic bags given out by most stores.
Zeng Suisheng, chief of the economic laws and regulations
section of the legislative affairs office of Shenzhen City, said he
had not expected such a strong public response to the proposal.
Zeng said most of the e-mails and letters his office had
received supported the proposal.
"The white pollution caused by excessive use of plastic bags
will be solved permanently only if society can reach a consensus,
and the government, business operators and consumers make concerted
efforts," said Zeng.
He said that no other details -- such as the proposed cost of
each bag, or how the costs would be shared among the government,
businesses and the public -- were available at the moment.
"We will work closely with other government departments and
adjust the draft after considering public opinions and
suggestions," said Zeng. "The government should bear greater
responsibility, but Shenzhen people should also abandon unhealthy
habits, such as using plastic bags."
(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2007)