The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) recently issued and implemented the Work Plan for Controlling Plastic Pollution in the Civil Aviation Industry (2021-2025), proposing that airports and airlines should be the focus of the treatment of plastic pollution. 

China will ban the use of disposable plastic packaging bags, tableware and straws made from non-degradable materials on domestic flights starting next year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

Airports with an annual throughput of at least 2 million passengers will also stop providing such products next year, and the ban will be extended to all airports and international passenger flights in 2023, the administration said.

By 2025, the consumption of disposable non-degradable plastic in the civil aviation industry will decline sharply from the 2020 level.

Alternative products are more widely used, and a smart and standardized waste recycling and treatment system is basically established.