SHANGHAI, December 28. /TASS/. A total ban on plastic bags, both biodegradable and otherwise, will enter force in Shanghai on January 1, 2021, according to Shanghai Daily.

Starting Friday, all Shanghai stores, from pharmacies to shopping malls, will stop selling plastic bags or provide them free of charge. Food delivery services will also be banned from using non-degradable plastic bags, and restaurants will no longer serve food and drinks in plastic package or with plastic drinking straw. The ban does not cover package for freshly cooked food.

Many Shanghai stores limited their plastic bag use even before the introduction of the restriction. The city administration adopted a plastic bag limiting policy in 2008: since then, the authorities sought to encourage people to use bags made of paper and other materials, without imposing strict bans.

This policy will cover other fields in the upcoming years, as well. According to the report, by the end of year 2021, plastic bags must be abolished by all star-rated Shanghai hotels, while all other city hotels will have to drop plastic bags by 2023. In the upcoming years, the Shanghai mail service and express deliveries will also stop using bags and packing tape made of non-degradable plastic.