A major plan to reduce single-use plastics across China has been unveiled, in an attempt to curb usage across the country.

By the end of 2020, non-degradable plastic bags will be banned across many major cities, with the ban extending to all cities and towns by 2022. 2020 will also see a ban on using single-use straws in the restaurant industry.

Further policy changes being introduced over the next five years include the outright banning of plastic bags less than 0.025mm thick, hotels must stop offering free single-use plastic items by 2025, and the restaurant industry must reduce single-use plastic item use by 30%.

China’s 1.4 billion citizens generate an incredible amount of waste, with 215m tonnes of urban household waste collected in the country in 2017 alone. China’s largest rubbish dump, the 170-acre Jiangcungou landfill in Shaanxi Province, received so much more waste per day than it could accommodate, that in 2019 it was completely filled up 25 years ahead of schedule.

China had previously banned retailers from handing out free plastic bags in 2008, while the country also banned the importing of foreign plastic waste.