Environment Blog

Plastic Bag Ban Closes Down Chinese Factory

BEIJING (AP) — China's largest producer of plastic bags said Tuesday it has closed more than a month after the government announced a high-profile ban on stores handing out free bags in an effort to clean up the environment.
Huaqiang factory, in central Henan province, closed at the beginning of February, said a woman who answered the telephone at the factory. All 10,000 workers at the factory were sent home, said the woman, who gave only her family name, Hai, as is common in China.
Last month, China announced a ban on stores handing out free plastic shopping bags in a bid to cut waste and conserve resources. The ban takes effect June 1, two months before Beijing hosts the Summer Olympic Games, and will eliminate the flimsiest bags and force stores to charge to more durable bags.
The measure was announced by the State Council, China's Cabinet. The Huaqiang closure indicates the measure is being followed.
Many environmental regulations in China fail because of opposition from local governments, which receive tax and other revenues from local factories and are reluctant to shut them down.
The Huaqiang factory will sell its equipment and raw materials, Hai said.
Management was not immediately available for comment Tuesday. Phones at the local commerce bureau were not answered.
The factory, owned by Nanqiang Plastic Industrial Ltd., of Guangzhou in southern China, produced 250,000 tons of plastic bags a year, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

My thoughts:
Although we were asked to find the article in the RSS feed, when I came across this one, I just could not help but post it.
Shutting down the factory and laying-off 10,000 people is insane. I understand that there are so many plastic bags flying around in China, they are called “white pollution.” But I also read that the government is pushing spit bags so that the Chinese will spit in the bags instead of, well… anywhere else. This, of course, is part of the clean-up campaign before the Olympics. So why not convert (at least for now) this plastic bag plant into a spit bag plant? I understand they are flimsy bags, but really, how much can spit weigh! What about education in recycling. I take some canvas bags to the grocery store and I also use some of the plastic bags provided, which I later recycle. This is something that can be implemented in China. I am no engineer, but maybe there was an inexpensive way to produce more durable (& reusable) bags, which are permitted. The raw materials had already been purchased, so maybe a little tweaking of the mold injection tool or the amount of resin used would have done the trick. Or, what about switching from three shifts to one (I am assuming the factory worked 3 shifts), which would save some of the jobs, reduce consumption, and start a “conversation” on what better environmental alternatives could be produced at the plant. China should be looking at possible “green jobs”, which could be both profitable and environmentally conscientious. Of course, if the owner of the plant was upset about the new regulation and wanted to prove a point by shutting down the plant, there is no amount of tweaking, restructuring or remarketing to have kept it open and saved those jobs. Hopefully the plant will re-open as a canvas bag plant and everyone can live in harmony!