Key Takeaways
- Single-use plastics pose significant environmental threats, due to their persistence in ecosystems and contribution to pollution.
- These plastics harm wildlife, contaminate waterways and contribute to the global plastic crisis.
- Efforts to reduce single-use plastic consumption and implement sustainable alternatives are essential for environmental conservation.
In early January 2020, China joined the growing movement of more than 120 countries pledging to ban single-use plastics. The country of 1.4 billion citizens is the No. 1 producer of plastic waste in the world. It topped 60 million tons (54.4 million metric tons) in 2010 based on a September 2018 report titled "Plastic Pollution."
But China announced it plans to outlaw the production and sale of non-degradable bags by the end of 2020 in major cities (and everywhere by 2022), as well as single-use straws by late 2020. Markets selling produce will have until 2025 to follow suit.
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The push to ban plastic took center stage in 2018 with massive promotions like the award-winning #StopSucking campaign, which featured stars like NFL quarterback Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen and Hollywood actor Adrian Grenier pledging to give up single-use plastic straws. Now countries and companies are saying no to plastics by the dozens, and consumers are following along with them.
As the plastics-ban movement hits major milestones — such as China's latest announcement — we decided to define the bottles, bags and straws that are causing this global stir.
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