China launches three-year plan for promoting bamboo as eco-friendly substitute for plastics 
On October 12, 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission and other three central government agencies of China launched the “Three-year action plan for promoting bamboo as an eco-friendly substitute for plastics.” The action plan aims to reduce plastic pollution by replacing plastic with bamboo through building an industrial system centered on bamboo substitutes and promoting cooperative development across the entire supply chain, including deep processing of bamboo materials, designing and manufacturing bamboo products, and expanding market use. The plan states action objectives, priority actions, and supporting measures. Furthermore, the “Inventory of key bamboo products for replacing plastic with bamboo (2023 Edition)” was also released at the same time. The inventory aims to promote the use of bamboo in a wide range area, from daily use articles such as bamboo tableware, to industrial products such as automobile interior products, and composite materials for construction.
Action objective
By 2025, a preliminary industrial system for de-plasticized bamboo products will be established, the quality and variety of products and the scale of the industry will be further improved and the market share of key products will be significantly increased. In addition, the comprehensive added value of key de-plasticized bamboo products will increase by more than 20 percent compared to 2022, and the comprehensive utilization rate of bamboo materials will increase by 20 percentage points by that time.
Priority actions
The following 7 priority actions are listed in the action plan.
- Promote scientific and technological innovation to improve the production technology of de-plasticized bamboo products.
- Promote industrial eco-development from bamboo cultivation to waste recycling of processed bamboo products.
- Promote the matching between producers and sellers.
- Publish a list of key bamboo products for replacing plastic with bamboo, and encouraging the use of de-plasticized bamboo products.
- Establish 5-10 bamboo substitute application demonstration bases.
- Use various methods to guide consumers to use de-plasticized bamboo products.
- Promote international exchange and cooperation.
Key product inventory
The “Inventory of key bamboo products for replacing plastic with bamboo (2023 Edition)” lists a total of 17 types of products, covering daily use articles, industrial products, and building materials. According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the inventory will be updated regularly. At the same time, the local government and other central government agencies can also formulate their own key product inventory according to the actual situation.
| Category | Product |
|---|---|
| Daily use articles | 1. Bamboo cases (bamboo smartphone cases, bamboo audio cases, etc.)
2. Bamboo stationery (bamboo mouse, bamboo keyboard, etc.) 3. Bamboo personal care products (bamboo toothbrushes, bamboo cups, etc.) 4. Bamboo furniture (bamboo desk, bamboo chair, etc.) 5. Disposable bamboo tableware (bamboo straws, bamboo spoons, etc.) 6. Durable bamboo tableware (bamboo bowls, bamboo plates, etc.) 7. Degradable bamboo bag |
| Industrial products | 8. Bamboo winding composite (replacing plastic products used in municipal administration, water conservancy, etc.)
9. Bamboo cooling tower filling material 10. Bamboo car interior products 11. Bamboo packaging materials (bamboo boxes, bamboo trays, etc.) 12. Bamboo container floorboard |
| Building materials | 13. Composite piping material wrapped with bamboo
14. Bamboo board 15. Bamboo interior materials (floors, windows, etc.) 16. Bamboo fiber composite material 17. Bamboo fence |
For the original text of the above-mentioned contents, please refer to the following URL (in Simplified Chinese).
https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/tz/202311/t20231102_1361715.html
