Are Non-Woven Bags Truly Eco-Friendly?(AI Translation)
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文｜财新周刊 康佳
By Caixin Weekly's Kang Jia
李晶晶推崇物尽其用。她动手能力很强，积攒的许多玻璃瓶被改造成小灯、水杯和茶叶罐，空心的钥匙扣变为携带方便的小药盒，吃螃蟹留下的蟹壳黏上眼睛，就是一幅狐狸的拼贴画。
Li Jingjing advocates for making full use of resources. She is very handy and has transformed many glass bottles into small lamps, water cups, and tea caddies. Hollow keychains have been turned into convenient portable pillboxes. Crab shells left over from meals, when affixed with eyes, become fox-themed collage art.
但无纺布袋让她困扰了许久。2021年7月，她将收纳整齐的一叠叠无纺布袋拍了照片，发到社交媒体上，“留之无用，弃之可惜”，向大家寻求处置建议。
But non-woven bags had been troubling her for a long time. In July 2021, she took photos of neatly stacked piles of non-woven bags and posted them on social media with the caption, "Useless to keep, yet a pity to discard," seeking advice on how to deal with them.
李晶晶住在北京市春风社区，因为工作忙碌，她每日在盒马、叮咚买菜、美团买菜等生鲜平台下一到两单购买果蔬、面包等，随之而来的还有一两个无纺布背心袋。她偶尔会用这些袋子装杂物，但它们源源不断，家里很快就囤积了200多个。
Li Jingjing lives in the Chunfeng Community in Beijing. Due to her busy work schedule, she places one or two orders daily on fresh food platforms such as Hema, Dingdong Grocery, and Meituan Grocery for fruits, vegetables, bread, and other items. Consequently, she also accumulates one or two non-woven tote bags with each order. Occasionally, she uses these bags to store miscellaneous items, but they keep piling up relentlessly; soon, her home amassed over 200 such bags.
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- Li Jingjing, a resident of Beijing's Chunfeng community, practices resourcefulness by repurposing items like glass jars and crab shells into useful objects. However, she struggles with the accumulation of non-woven fabric bags from daily online grocery orders, which quickly piled up to over 200 in her home.
- The non-woven fabric bags became popular as an alternative to single-use plastic bags following China's stricter plastic pollution control measures starting in 2020. Despite being marketed as eco-friendly, these bags are essentially made of plastic and need to be reused at least 11 times to be more environmentally beneficial than traditional polyethylene bags.
- Hainan province took a pioneering step by including thin non-woven fabric bags under its plastic restriction policies in January 2023, addressing the issue that these bags often end up being used only once due to their poor durability and inability to hold moisture, thus contributing significantly to environmental waste.
Li Jingjing, a resident of Chunfeng Community in Beijing, has become an advocate for resource utilization by creatively repurposing everyday items like glass bottles and crab shells into useful or decorative objects. However, she faces a challenge with the accumulation of non-woven bags from her frequent online grocery orders, which she finds difficult to reuse effectively [para. 1].
In July 2021, Li posted on social media about her dilemma with non-woven bags, expressing reluctance to discard them despite their limited utility. This post resonated with many, highlighting a common issue of accumulating such bags from online shopping [para. 2]. By April 2024, the post had garnered significant attention, indicating widespread concern over the practical reuse of these bags [para. 3].
The use of non-woven bags increased following China's "New Plastic Restriction Order" in 2020 aimed at controlling plastic pollution. These bags were initially seen as a better alternative to disposable plastic due to their durability and lower cost. However, they are essentially made from plastics like polypropylene and polyester and are not biodegradable [para. 4][para. 5]. Despite being marketed as eco-friendly, studies suggest that non-woven bags need to be reused multiple times (at least 11) to truly be more environmentally beneficial than traditional plastic bags [para. 6].
In Hainan Province, efforts have been made to regulate the use of lightweight non-woven bags by banning those weighing less than 100 grams per square meter. This regulation aims to address the environmental impact and poor reusability of thinner non-woven bags commonly distributed for free at markets [para. 7]. The province has taken a lead in including such bags under plastic restriction regulations due to their significant environmental footprint when not properly managed [para. 8].
Environmental experts argue that while alternatives like paper or biodegradable plastic may seem more sustainable, they can create an illusion of sustainability without genuinely addressing the underlying issues of resource depletion and environmental degradation. Effective management of plastic pollution involves reducing source materials and improving recycling processes rather than merely substituting one type of single-use product for another [para. 9][para. 10].
The broader implications involve assessing the lifecycle impacts of various bag options and promoting designs that encourage reuse and recycling. China's approach includes enhancing standards for non-woven bags to ensure they meet requirements for multiple uses while also exploring more sustainable practices across different regions based on specific environmental needs [para. 11][para. 12].
Ultimately, tackling the issue requires a multifaceted strategy that includes public awareness, regulatory measures, and technological innovations to reduce reliance on single-use products and improve overall sustainability in packaging and waste management [para. 13].
- Hema
盒马 - Hema, mentioned in the article, is one of the fresh food platforms where Li Jingjing frequently places orders for groceries like fruits and vegetables. Each order typically comes with one or two non-woven polypropylene bags, contributing to the accumulation of these bags at her home.
- Dingdong Maicai
叮咚买菜 - Dingdong Maicai is mentioned as one of the fresh produce platforms from which Li Jingjing, a resident of Beijing's Chunfeng Community, frequently orders fruits, vegetables, and bread. This results in her receiving one or two non-woven vest bags with each order, contributing to her accumulation of over 200 such bags at home.
- Meituan Grocery
美团买菜 - Meituan Grocery is mentioned in the context of being one of the platforms from which Li Jingjing, a resident of Beijing, frequently orders groceries. This results in the accumulation of numerous non-woven fabric bags at her home, contributing to environmental concerns due to their limited reuse and recycling capabilities.
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