The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued and implemented on May 25 its 2021-2025 civil aviation industry plastic pollution control work plan, which will prohibit the use of disposable non-biodegradable plastic.

This will be first implemented at airports with an annual passenger throughput of two million passengers or more and on domestic passenger services — and later on to all Chinese airports.

In a brief release posted by the Centre for Aviation (CAPA), it said that the measure will be expanded to all Chinese airports and all international passenger services from 2023.

"China will ban the use of disposable plastic packaging bags, tableware, and straws on domestic flights starting next year," state-owned Xinhua said in a report.

It added that the ban was part of a five-year plan released by the administration to control plastic pollution.

"By 2025, the consumption of disposable non-degradable plastic in the civil aviation industry will decline sharply from the 2020 level, according to the plan," it added. "Airlines in the country have already started the green transition, with some companies replacing disposable plastic tableware with recyclable ones and piloting on-board garbage sorting."