Impact of New Regulation on Single Use Plastics in China and Opportunities for Molded Pulp Packaging Products

China’s New Ban on Single-Use Plastics in 2020

China’s new regulation to ban single use plastics will bring huge potential for degradable packaging industry like bioplastics and molded pulp packaging products. As one of the world’s biggest users of plastics, China recently has unveiled a major plan to reduce single-use plastics in different industries across the country in January 2020. Non-degradable bags will be banned in major cities by the end of 2020 and in all cities and towns by 2022. And some local governments follow the guideline to issue similar policies to ban single-use plastics including Hainan, Ganxu and Fuzhou.

The Difference between the New Regulation and the prior policy

The New Regulation is quite different from the prior one, it was when the Chinese government issued the ban policy for the first time in 2007. It’s the most rigorous ban this time. These regulations are scheduled to be phased in with specific goals set by the end of 2020, 2022 and 2025. The policy has regulated mainly on the prohibition or restriction of sales, production, and use of plastic shopping bags, disposable foamed plastic tableware, and personal care or beauty products that contain plastic beads,  and 100% ban on importation of plastic scrap.

Changes after the Issuance of the New Regulation

With the background of the ban on plastics and ban on importation of plastic scrap, bioplastic products and degradable packaging products have become the focus. According to certain research data, the demand in bioplastics is expected to achieve 13,000,000 tons by the year 2025, while the current demand is only less than 100,000tons. Under the pressure of the new regulations, degradable bioplastics and other degradable food packaging products(like molded pulp packaging products and other materials) will be in huge need in the next 5 years. Many big brands like Starbucks, KFC, and Macdonald’s in China already lead the change in replacing plastics, more and more native brands follow as well. It’s also the demand of consumers with the improvement of living conditions.

Opportunities for Biodegradable Packaging Products Producers

It’s a big opportunity for companies who are in this degradable packaging industry like Green Olive, the company has plans to enlarge the capacity of molded pulp packaging products, so as to meet the expected surge in domestic market need by setting up more plants mainly in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta this year. And strengthen marketing initiatives both online and by participating in professional exhibitions and fairs in China. Now we have built a long term business relationship with China’s largest food delivery platform. Meituan has more than 6.3million vendors and 460million active users and the total revenue achieves 24.7 billion RMB as of June. 30, 2020 according to the Interim Financial Report of Meituan. The collaboration with Meituan will accelerate the pace of domestic market penetration of the Company in the future.

About Green Olive

Green Olive specializes in the design, manufacture, and distribution of compostable molded pulp packaging products, with a wide range of consumer packaged goods (consumer electronics, health & beauty, etc.) and e-commerce applications. Our goal is to be the leader in molded pulp fiber sustainable packaging solutions in China. The company was founded with the simple intent to make people’s lives better through the sustainable food packaging they use in their daily lives.

For more information or other queries, please contact info@greenolives.com.cn, thanks.