China launches three-year plan for promoting bamboo as eco-friendly substitute for plastics

The National Development and Reform Commission of China, along with three other central government agencies, unveiled the “Three-year action plan for promoting bamboo as an eco-friendly substitute for plastics” on October 12, 2023. By developing an industrial system focused on bamboo substitutes and encouraging cooperative development throughout the entire supply chain, including deep processing of bamboo materials, designing and manufacturing bamboo products, and expanding market use, the action plan seeks to reduce plastic pollution by substituting bamboo for plastic. Action objectives, top actions, and bolstering measures are outlined in the plan. Additionally, concurrently released was the “Inventory of Key Bamboo Products for Replacing Plastic with Bamboo (2023 Edition)”. The inventory seeks to encourage the use of bamboo in a variety of contexts, including everyday items like bamboo dinnerware, industrial goods like car interiors, and composite building materials.

Objective of the action

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” 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.