Biodegradable plastic shopping bags are green and environmentally friendly alternative products produced mainly from biodegradable resins, which are convenient for people's daily lives. In the past five years, the annual comprehensive growth rate of China's biodegradable plastic shopping bag production capacity has continuously exceeded 20%. The total market output is expected to be around 550000 tons by 2025, and about 20 billion traditional plastic bags will be replaced every year. The overall usage of traditional plastic shopping bags has significantly decreased.

The current national standard for biodegradable plastic shopping bags was released in 2019. With the advancement of product production technology, changes in testing and market supervision requirements, this standard has also been revised and improved accordingly. The new national standard for biodegradable plastic shopping bags has recently been released and will be officially implemented on January 1, 2027.

Clear identification makes it easy for consumers to make purchases at a glance

There are many types of plastic shopping bags on the market today, and it is difficult for consumers to accurately distinguish them. So, how can the new national standard help consumers accurately identify biodegradable plastic bags.

Weng Yunxuan, Secretary General of the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Biomaterials and Degradable Products: This shopping bag is labeled, but it says it is biodegradable. But from the label, it has no ingredients, is not truly biodegradable, and is also non-standard.

The new national standard has improved the product labeling of biodegradable plastic shopping bags in response to this situation, clarifying the biodegradable performance labeling pattern and text content to facilitate consumer identification and product supervision and management.

Weng Yunxuan: This national standard is more specific in the labeling of shopping bags, including individual identification, ingredients, degradation conditions, requirements for degradation performance, and shelf life. The requirements are more clear.

The degradation rate has been increased to 90%, truly achieving effective degradation

In addition to facilitating consumer identification, the new national standard also strengthens quality control requirements and modifies requirements for biodegradability. Simply put, it means ensuring that the product is easy to degrade while also being "sturdy and practical".

The new national standard has increased the degradation rate of biodegradable plastic shopping bags from 60% to 90%. In different scenarios, there are different requirements for the degradation cycle. Under industrial composting conditions, complete degradation time is required, which means that the longest time for a degradation rate of over 90% to reach is no more than 180 days, and the longest time for a degradation rate of 90% in soil and marine environments is no more than 2 years.

Li Ziyi, Deputy Director of the National Plastic Products Quality Inspection and Testing Center (Beijing): In the first week, the state of compost and samples after mixing was like this. The entire sample is still relatively large, and from the second week onwards, they underwent changes. The color of the compost and the size of the samples have also changed, and the changes have become increasingly apparent since the third week. We can see from the first and third weeks. It is very obvious that both the color and the plastic bag itself have changed significantly, and by the sixth week, the sample is almost invisible. And the volume of compost has also significantly decreased.

The new national standard has also improved the durability of biodegradable plastic shopping bags.

Wang Hongxing, Director of the Inspection Department of the National Plastic Products Quality Inspection and Testing Center (Beijing): This machine simulates the natural shaking that may occur when we walk while shopping and lifting heavy objects. Lifting is done at a fixed frequency of 1800 times. If there are no issues, it is considered qualified.

Clarify producer responsibility and determine reasonable storage period

In addition, the old version of the national standard required that the shelf life of biodegradable plastic shopping bags should not be less than one year, and the new national standard has also revised the storage period requirements.

The new national standard further highlights producer responsibility and modifies storage period requirements, allowing producers to determine a reasonable storage period based on the performance of biodegradable plastic shopping bags and their user needs, and clearly indicate it in packaging labeling.

Weng Yunxuan: Under different scenarios and usage conditions, some customers have different requirements for the storage period of biodegradable shopping bags, including six months, one year, and one and a half years. Therefore, the standard requires manufacturers to be very clear in product labeling and indicate their storage period.

The reporter learned. In the past five years, the annual comprehensive growth rate of China's biodegradable plastic shopping bag production capacity has continuously exceeded 20%. The total market output is expected to be around 550000 tons by 2025, and about 20 billion traditional plastic bags will be replaced every year. The overall usage of traditional plastic shopping bags has significantly decreased.

Article reposted from: China Packaging Information Network