Skip to content
Specialized Packaging Market Intelligence and Strategic AdvisoryPackaging Intelligence. Clearer Decisions. Stronger Growth.
SPI Regulation Tracker

Packaging rule · China · Ban

Opinions on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control (NDRC/MEE 2020 No. 80)

Ban covering plastic, single-use plastic in China, set by National Development and Reform Commission; Ministry of Ecology and Environment. In force.

By the SPI teamRule ID PR-CN-001Source consulted 13 October 2026Verified 13 October 2026
Sourced facts

The rule

Recorded from the official source named below. Rates and dates are as the source states them on the date it was consulted.

Jurisdiction
China
Authority
National Development and Reform Commission; Ministry of Ecology and Environment
Rule type
Ban
Materials
Plastic, Single-use plastic
Status
In force Enacted
Adopted or published
16 January 2020
From the source

“到2025年底，全国范围邮政快递网点禁止使用不可降解的塑料包装袋、塑料胶带、一次性塑料编织袋等。”

Official source NDRC: 关于进一步加强塑料污染治理的意见Official (government or regulator) · consulted 13 October 2026

Deadlines

Key dates

  1. Adopted or published 6 years ago

  2. Source consulted by the SPI team 2 days ago

  3. Re-checked by a second SPI team member 2 days ago

SPI analysis

What it means

SPI analysis Our reading of the official source above. Not legal advice; always rely on the official text.

SPI summary

Phased restrictions on non-degradable plastic bags, straws and express packaging. Non-degradable plastic straws banned in food service nationwide by end-2020; postal and express outlets nationwide must stop using non-degradable plastic bags, tape and woven bags by end-2025.

In practice

NDRC/MEE Opinion No. 80 of January 2020 sets phased national restrictions rather than a single ban date. For packaging, the key points are non-degradable plastic bags in retail and takeaway (cities from end-2020, wider areas by end-2022, wet markets by end-2025), non-degradable tableware in dine-in catering, and express delivery: postal and express outlets nationwide were to stop using non-degradable plastic bags, plastic tape and disposable woven bags by end-2025. Bag, film and tape suppliers to Chinese retail and logistics are most affected.

Where the record is unclear

  • The Opinion is a policy document; binding effect depends on provincial and sector rules, which were not reviewed.
  • No single effective date: deadlines run from end-2020 to end-2025 and vary by area.
  • The Opinion does not define 'degradable' or name the standards used to judge it.

Where it sits in the tracker

  • One of 3 packaging rules we track in China, of which 1 are ban rules.
  • In all, 17 ban rules are tracked across 11 jurisdictions. Compare them below

Company profiles that map to this rule

Companies whose SPI profile lists this rule in its regulatory exposure, based on where they report selling. Not company-reported.

SPI analysis

Overview

Opinion No. 80 (发改环资〔2020〕80号) was signed by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on 16 January 2020, published on 19 January 2020 and addressed to provincial governments and State Council departments1. It set three stages: begin bans in some regions and sectors in 2020, cut single-use plastic use markedly by 2022, and bring plastic pollution under effective control by 2025, with substantially less landfilling in key cities1.

The Opinion is a policy instrument. From 1 September 2020 until 15 August 2026 its legal force for businesses came mainly from the Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law as revised on 29 April 2020. In that period Article 69 of that law said the state bans or restricts by law the production, sale and use of non-degradable plastic bags and other single-use plastic products, and required retail venue operators, e-commerce platforms, express firms and food delivery firms to report their use and recycling of such products2. The Ecological Environment Code, adopted on 12 March 2026, replaced the Solid Waste Law from 15 August 2026, when its Article 1242 repealed that law5. SPI has not yet confirmed the corresponding single-use plastics provisions of the Code.

The Opinion also reaches beyond bans. Section V commits the authorities to update the catalogue of banned and restricted plastic products, write labelling standards for degradable materials and explore credit penalties for violations1. The follow-up 14th Five-Year Plan action plan of September 2021 added 2025 goals such as e-commerce parcels that are no longer re-packed and 10 million reusable express packaging units in use3.

Duties

Who must do what

Plastic product manufacturer

  • Do not make or sell shopping bags thinner than 0.025 mm or polyethylene mulch film thinner than 0.01 mm, and do not make plastic products from medical waste (Section II(4))1.
  • Stop making and selling disposable foam tableware and plastic cotton swabs from the end of 20201.
  • Follow laws and standards, avoid harmful additives, apply green design and use recycled plastic that meets quality controls (Section III(8))1.

Retailers, caterers and hotels

  • Stop using non-degradable plastic bags in malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores, takeaway and exhibitions on the timetable for each city tier set in Section II(5)11.
  • Report use and recycling of plastic bags and other single-use plastics to commerce authorities; before 15 August 2026 this duty sat in Article 69 of the Solid Waste Law2, which the Ecological Environment Code has since repealed5. SPI has not yet confirmed the corresponding single-use plastics provisions of the Code.
  • Hotels: star-rated venues stop offering single-use plastic items proactively by end-2022, all hotels and homestays by end-20251.

E-commerce and food delivery platforms

  • Manage merchants on the platform, adopt plans to cut single-use plastics and report progress publicly (Section III(7))1.
  • Report single-use plastic use and recycling to the competent departments, a duty that Article 69 set until the Code took over on 15 August 202625.

Postal and express delivery firms

  • Stop using non-degradable plastic packaging bags, plastic tape and single-use woven bags at all outlets nationwide by end-2025, after a 2022 first phase in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong1.
  • Comply with these restrictions under Article 14 of the Ministry of Transport packaging measures4.

NDRC, MEE and local governments

  • NDRC and MEE lead through a special working mechanism; local governments write implementation measures for their areas (Section VI(16))1.
Scope

Are you in scope?

Work through each question. The answers are the SPI team's reading of the sources cited.

  1. Is the shopping bag thinner than 0.025 mm or the PE mulch film thinner than 0.01 mm?

    If yes
    Production and sale are banned outright1.
    If no
    Check the use restrictions on non-degradable bags.

  2. Is the bag non-degradable and used in a mall, supermarket, pharmacy, bookstore, takeaway or exhibition in a covered urban area?

    If yes
    Use is banned in municipalities, provincial capitals and separately planned cities from end-2020 and in all prefecture-level cities and coastal county towns from end-20221.
    If no
    Local rules may still extend the ban to towns and rural markets1.

  3. Is it a non-degradable straw used in catering?

    If yes
    Banned nationwide from end-20201.
    If no
    Other tableware rules depend on dine-in or takeaway and city tier.

  4. Is the packaging used at a postal or express outlet?

    If yes
    Non-degradable bags, tape and single-use woven bags are restricted nationwide from end-20251.
    If no
    The express phase does not apply.

  5. Is it a daily chemical product with plastic microbeads?

    If yes
    Production banned from end-2020 and sale from end-20221.
    If no
    Not covered by that item.
Checklist

Compliance checklist

  1. Map items to the Opinion's phase table

    By Now

    SPI analysis of the official text. Not legal advice; confirm with the text or counsel. List each bag, tape, mailer, straw and tableware item by sector and city tier against Section II(4) and (5), since all phases had passed by 31 December 20251.

    Evidence to keep Item matrix by sector, city tier and phase date.

  2. Check provincial rules

    By Now

    Section VI(16) leaves detailed measures to local governments, so each province's list and dates decide what is enforced on the ground1.

    Evidence to keep Copy of each relevant provincial implementation plan.

  3. Prepare single-use plastic reports

    By As required by the competent department

    Retail venue operators, platforms, express and food delivery firms reported use and recycling under Article 69 of the Solid Waste Law until 15 August 2026, the day the Ecological Environment Code replaced it25. SPI has not yet confirmed the corresponding single-use plastics provisions of the Code.

    Evidence to keep Annual quantities of bags and single-use items supplied and recovered.

  4. Substantiate degradable claims

    By Before switching materials

    The Opinion targets false or deceptive labelling and commits to degradable labelling standards, so hold test evidence for any degradable bag or film (Sections V(12) and VI(15))1.

    Evidence to keep Test reports against the applicable national standard.

  5. Plan reusable express packaging

    By 2025 goals and beyond

    The 2021 action plan aimed for 10 million reusable express packaging units and e-commerce parcels shipped without re-packing by 20253.

    Evidence to keep Share of parcels shipped in original or reusable packaging.

Enforcement

Enforcement and penalties

Who enforces
County-level and higher commerce and postal departments for the single-use plastic reporting duties; market supervision and ecological environment enforcement teams for production, sale and labelling12
Powers
Routine inspections, crackdowns on illegal production and sale of banned products and on false labelling, public exposure and summons, and recording violations in credit records (Section VI(15) and Section V(12))1.
Enforcement so far
The Opinion folds key problems into central ecological environment inspections with assessment and accountability (Section VI(16))1. SPI has not yet compiled individual cases.

Penalties

BreachPenaltyLegal basis
Breaching the ban or restriction on single-use plastic products, or failing to report use and recycling一万元以上十万元以下的罚款 (CNY 10,000 to 100,000, the position before 15 August 2026)Article 106 of the Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law (2020), with an order to correct, which applied until the Ecological Environment Code repealed that law on 15 August 20265. SPI has not yet confirmed the corresponding single-use plastics provisions of the Code.25

Before 15 August 2026, express firms that breached the plastic restrictions were penalised under the same Article 106, as Article 45 of the Ministry of Transport packaging measures states4. Local governments that fail to enforce can themselves be named and summoned under Section VI(15)1.

Connections

How it fits with other rules

  • Administrative Measures for Postal and Express Packaging PR-CN-002
    The Ministry of Transport measures turn the express phase of the Opinion into carrier duties: Article 14 tells postal and express firms to follow the plastic restrictions, and Article 45 sends penalties to Article 106 of the Solid Waste Law, a law repealed with effect from 15 August 202645.
  • GB 23350-2021 restriction of excessive packaging (food and cosmetics) PR-CN-003
    Until 15 August 2026, Article 68 of the Solid Waste Law, which carried the excessive packaging standard, sat next to Article 69 on single-use plastics, so a food or cosmetic pack could be judged on both its layers and its plastic content2. Both articles fell away with the rest of that law when the Code took effect5.
  • Ban on identified single-use plastic items PR-IN-004
    India set one nationwide date, 1 July 2022, for a fixed list, while the Opinion phases by city tier and sector from end-2020 to end-2025 and leaves the detail to provinces1.
  • Plastic Resource Circulation Act PR-JP-001
    Japan asks retailers to rationalise 12 named single-use products through charging or confirmation, without a ban; China bans non-degradable items outright in named venues1.
Timeline

History of the rule

  1. Opinion No. 80 signed by NDRC and MEE1.

  2. Opinion published by NDRC1.

  3. Solid Waste Law revised, with Article 69 on single-use plastics2.

  4. Revised Solid Waste Law takes effect2.

  5. First phase: catering straws nationwide, bags in large cities, foam tableware and swabs1.

  6. Ministry of Transport packaging measures take effect4.

  7. 14th Five-Year Plan plastic pollution action plan signed3.

  8. Second phase: wider bag ban, express outlets in six provinces and municipalities, star-rated hotels1.

  9. Final phase: express outlets nationwide, wet markets, all hotels, 30% cut in takeaway tableware intensity1.

  10. Ecological Environment Code takes effect; its Article 1242 repeals the Solid Waste Law, including Articles 69 and 1065.

Questions

Questions

When did China ban non-degradable plastic packaging at express outlets nationwide?

Opinion No. 80 set the end of 2025 for postal and express outlets nationwide to stop using non-degradable plastic packaging bags, plastic tape and single-use woven bags. Six provinces and municipalities, including Beijing and Guangdong, were to act first by the end of 20221.

What is the fine for breaching China's single-use plastic restrictions?

Before 15 August 2026, Article 106 of the Solid Waste Law provided for an order to correct and a fine of CNY 10,000 to 100,000, imposed by commerce, postal and other departments at county level or above2. The Ecological Environment Code replaced that law from 15 August 20265. SPI has not yet confirmed the corresponding single-use plastics provisions of the Code.

Is Opinion No. 80 a law?

No. It is a January 2020 policy document of NDRC and MEE addressed to provinces and ministries. Until 15 August 2026 its restrictions bound businesses through Article 69 of the Solid Waste Law and local implementing rules, and that law has since been replaced by the Ecological Environment Code125.

Which plastic bags are banned outright in China?

Shopping bags thinner than 0.025 mm may not be produced or sold, and polyethylene mulch film thinner than 0.01 mm is likewise banned. Other non-degradable bags are restricted by venue and city tier between 2020 and 20251.

What did China target for takeaway tableware by 2025?

The Opinion set a 30% cut by the end of 2025 in the consumption intensity of non-degradable single-use tableware in takeaway food in prefecture-level and larger cities1.

Glossary

Definitions

Ultra-thin plastic shopping bag
A plastic shopping bag thinner than 0.025 mm, whose production and sale Section II(4) bans1.1
Polyethylene agricultural mulch film (banned gauge)
PE mulch film thinner than 0.01 mm, banned from production and sale under Section II(4)1.1
Packaging materials (express)
Defined in Administrative Measures for Postal and Express Packaging PR-CN-002
Sources

Sources for this analysis

  1. NDRC: 关于进一步加强塑料污染治理的意见 (Fagai Huanzi [2020] No. 80), 16 January 2020 Official · Consulted 14 October 2026
  2. 中华人民共和国固体废物污染环境防治法 (2020 revision), as published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Official · Consulted 14 October 2026
  3. NDRC and MEE: 关于印发'十四五'塑料污染治理行动方案的通知 (Fagai Huanzi [2021] No. 1298) Official · Consulted 14 October 2026
  4. Gazette of the State Council: 邮件快件包装管理办法 (Ministry of Transport Order No. 1 of 2021) Official · Consulted 14 October 2026
  5. Jiangmen Municipal Government: 新法速递 中华人民共和国生态环境法典 (法制专刊 2026年第8期) Official · Consulted 14 October 2026

Written by the SPI team on 14 October 2026. Sources checked as of 14 October 2026. SPI analysis, not legal advice; always rely on the official text.

Audit trail

Change history

Verified: a second SPI team member re-checked every fact above against the source on 13 October 2026. Any later change to the facts sends the rule back to Sourced and is logged here.

  1. Verified by a second SPI team member

  2. Added to the tracker

Spotted an error? Write to sales@strategicpackaginginsights.com quoting PR-CN-001 and the source. Corrections are logged in this history.

Other jurisdictions

Ban rules elsewhere

The same type of rule for the same materials in other jurisdictions, by the date it applies.

RuleWhereTypeMaterialsStatusApplies from
Ban on plastic carrier bags and flat bagsPR-KE-001KenyaBanPlasticIn force28 August 2017
France AGEC: bans on disposable straws, cutlery and other single-use itemsPR-FR-002FranceBanSingle-use plasticIn force1 January 2021
SUP Directive: ban on single-use plastic cutlery, plates, straws and EPS containersPR-EU-014European UnionBanSingle-use plasticIn force3 July 2021
Ban on identified single-use plastic itemsPR-IN-004IndiaBanPlastic, Single-use plasticIn force1 July 2022
Plastic phase-outs (stages 1 and 2)PR-NZ-001New ZealandBanPlastic, Single-use plasticIn force1 October 2022
Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SOR/2022-138)PR-CA-001CanadaBanSingle-use plasticIn force20 December 2022
England ban on single-use plastic plates, cutlery and polystyrene food containersPR-GB-006England, United KingdomBanSingle-use plasticIn force1 October 2023
Wales Single-use Plastic Products Act 2023PR-GB-007Wales, United KingdomBanSingle-use plasticIn force30 October 2023
Washington expanded polystyrene foam banPR-US-012Washington, United StatesBanPlasticIn force1 June 2024
Gradual ban on single-use plastic products (Law 2232 of 2022)PR-CO-002ColombiaBanPlastic, Single-use plasticIn force7 July 2024

Every ban rule in the tracker

ClosingAsk the SPI team

Ask the SPI team

Does this rule apply to your packs?

Tell us your products, materials and markets. An analyst maps the obligations, fees and deadlines that apply, with every source.

Request a briefing

Prefer email? Write to sales@strategicpackaginginsights.com.

Questions people bring
  1. Q1

    Which packaging rules apply to us in each market we sell in?

    We map each market's EPR, tax, ban, recycled-content, labelling and deposit rules against your materials and formats, and show which are in force, adopted or only proposed.

  2. Q2

    What could EPR fees and plastic taxes cost us next year?

    We apply published fee tables and tax rates to your tonnages and recycled content, and show the result as scenarios with every rate sourced.

  3. Q3

    Can you tell us when a rule changes?

    Yes. The free tracker alerts cover rule changes by country; a monitoring retainer adds monthly notes on what the changes mean for your portfolio.