Exploring Plastic-Management Policy in China: Status, Challenges and Policy Insights
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The paper discusses the present policy relevant to plastic management in China.
The manuscript is well-written and well-documented and makes recommendations for policy implementation.
I have only a few comments.
• You could discuss the policy in China in light of previous research and policy implemented globally.
• The recommendations are general. You could recommend integrated plastic management and efficient policy implementation by using management tools in your analysis. For instance, by a stakeholder analysis, you could locate all the stakeholders involved in plastic management of all institutional levels, global, national, regional, and local off-site and local on-site, and their perspectives, interests, and possible conflicts.
Author Response
Thank you very much for the above positive comments and the following specific suggestions to improve the paper.
We added a new paragraph in the “Introduction” to discuss the policy in China in light of policy implemented globally (L. 39-67) as follows.
“Countries around the world are actively addressing the issue of plastic pollution and implementing various measures to reduce plastic usage and increase recycling. On November 30, 2022, the European Commission announced an update to the "Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive" (PPWD). The draft states that by 2030, all packaging of goods produced by manufacturers needs to be designed as recyclable, 80% of cups or boxes must be reusable by 2040, the use of small plastic bags for condiments such as mayonnaise or ketchup is to be prohibited, and proposed single-use plastics such as disposable plastic bags used in cafeterias for food packaging and mini shampoo bottles provided by hotels [11,12] be phased out. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, in collaboration with the new White House Interagency Policy Committee on Plastic Pollution and Circular Economy (IPC). The draft strategy aims to eliminate the release of plastic and other waste from land sources into the environment by 2040 [13]. In recent years, France has intensified efforts to reduce plastic usage by enacting the "Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy Law," which aims to achieve 100% recycling of plastic products by 2025, reduce superfluous single-use plastic packaging, and reduce the sales volume of single-use plastic bottles by half by 2030, with the ultimate aim of achieving zero usage of SUP products by 2040 [4]. On April 1, 2022, Japan's "Plastic Resource Recycling Promotion Law" was officially implemented. This law requires operators with large single-use plastics inputs to reduce the volumes used, and also requires operators in the food service, retail, and hotel industries to reduce plastic waste generation [15]. To address the issue of plastic waste, Thailand has taken actions in implementing the "Plastic Waste Management Roadmap 2018-2030," which aims to achieve 100% plastic waste recycling by 2027. At the end of November 2019 it also approved a plastic ban (proposed by Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), covering single-use plastic bags in major shopping centers, convenience stores, and other establishments, which took effect on January 1, 2020 [16].”
We understand that this is an important issue. Using CiteSpace, we have calculated the number of policy documents issued by each department and identified co-occurring issuing organizations, as shown below. Additionally, we plan to conduct an interview survey to locate all stakeholders involved in plastic management, understand their perspectives, interests, and potential conflicts.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.doc
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript "Exploring plastic management policy in China: Status, Challenges and Policy Insights" declare as article its not clear if its a review. So far there only policies of china government listed how plastic waste should be addressed. There need to be some scientific depth or some methodology how to identify plastic waste (micro and nanoparticles) as well how to remove it.
1.There are different plastic waste as those can be recycled while others not. Please include those differences in the introduction also called thermoplastics and others that can not be recycled.
2. There are beside from china successful recycling in a place called Taiwan with 80% recycle of plastic waste. The other part as in EU the part real recycled in thermoplastics are sort of 1-3% and not 61%. Most plastic is burned. Please give some overview in your article how other countries manage such and how china can adapt on it.
3. The main issue if talking about plastic recycling only laws and penalties will not reduce such waste more smart installation of government with companies involved (this part is missing). Most companies make money from such plastic waste over recycling and that how most countries are able to reach the goal.
4. The sentence at page 18 line 512: "It is worth noting that due to its efforts in this realm, China is now seen as a leader in biodiversity conservation and research" This is more than on one level wrong as biodiversity is another issue in china that needs urgent actions.
For a scientific paper praising own government is not the right way to present it, hence science and politics should not be mixed.
5. Please add some scheme how other countries managing waste, can be from EU or US as with yellow sack or green points those are the one be selected separately from common waste. Regarding covid-19 the biggest pollution so far are the mask used and abundant in environment.
6. The author also mention that some is burned others are end in landfill which pose risk for biological diversity. The biggest problem of plastic waste long banned in US are polystyrene with 1 mill years staying in the environment. Does china have a ban on such and how are those thermoplastics treated and collected and reused?
7. In recent years the biodegradable plastics or those made from natural products are coming more and more in favor. Please create a section for this as this are the most successful solution addressed in research.
In summary the article can be quite well used what politics intended but the success as seen from politics before did not lead to more plastic recycling. Does china government have a plan of pilot projects to address those rules and penalties, to verify if such can be worked at all?
English is fine just correct some typos
Author Response
Review 2：
- There are different plastic waste as those can be recycled while others not. Please include those differences in the introduction also called thermoplastics and others that can not be recycled.
Thank you for your comments. But I do not fully understand from which perspective you are talking about—is it referring to whether plastics can or cannot be recycled, i.e., is it that thermoplastics like PET can be recycled multiple times with proper sorting and processing, while materials like polystyrene have low value for recycling? Or does it concern issues with composite resins or additives? While there are various issues, it was determined that they are not directly related to this paper, so we have omitted them. Thank you for your understanding.
- There are beside from china successful recycling in a place called Taiwan with 80% recycle of plastic waste. The other part as in EU the part real recycled in thermoplastics are sort of 1-3% and not 61%. Most plastic is burned. Please give some overview in your article how other countries manage such and how china can adapt on it.
I believe the recycling rate in Taiwan mentioned by the reviewer is for industrial plastic waste. As we have explained in this paper, China's plastic waste management/recycling system is quite unique compared to other countries, so it may not be a simple matter of adopting this methodology. However, we can provide an overview of how other countries manage their plastic waste in the article to provide a broader perspective in our next paper.
- The main issue if talking about plastic recycling only laws and penalties will not reduce such waste more smart installation of government with companies involved (this part is missing). Most companies make money from such plastic waste over recycling and that how most countries are able to reach the goal.
Sorry that we cannot cover all this in one single paper. A future paper will cover this issue, regarding a PPP recycling business model in China.
- The sentence at page 18 line 512: "It is worth noting that due to its efforts in this realm, China is now seen as a leader in biodiversity conservation and research" This is more than on one level wrong as biodiversity is another issue in china that needs urgent actions.
For a scientific paper praising own government is not the right way to present it, hence science and politics should not be mixed.
Thank you for pointing this out. What we want to say is that “Plastic pollution also has direct and critical impacts on climate change, biodiversity, as well as the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). According to the Action Plan for Carbon Dioxide Peaking Before 2030 (2030年前碳达峰行动方案), control-ling and tackling plastic pollution are key to achieving carbon neutrality in China. The realization of an “ecological civilization” is also a high priority for China, which focus-es on balancing biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development. Moreover, these efforts are likely to boost motivation for various domestic stakeholders to adopt measures to reduce plastic production, consumption, and mismanaged waste, contributing to achievement of the SDGs, specifically targets 12.4, 12.5, and 14.1 [48].” Revised.
- Please add some scheme how other countries managing waste, can be from EU or US as with yellow sack or green points those are the one be selected separately from common waste. Regarding covid-19 the biggest pollution so far are the mask used and abundant in environment.
Added. Please see the above answer to Review 1. We conducted a household survey in 5 countries including China to examine the impact of COVID-19 on plastic consumption, including masks. Please wait for a while.
- The author also mentions that some is burned and others end in landfill which pose risk for biological diversity. The biggest problem of plastic waste, long-banned in the US, is that polystyrene has an environmental residency of 1 million years. Does china have a ban on such and how are those thermoplastics treated and collected and reused?
This has been discussed, regarding polystyrene, please kindly see L.500-510.
- In recent years the biodegradable plastics or those made from natural products are coming more and more in favor. Please create a section for this as this are the most successful solution addressed in research.
Yes, as you mentioned, biodegradable plastics are becoming increasingly popular. However, they still have certain limitations. Firstly, certain additives in biodegradable plastics may have adverse effects on biological processes, chemical properties, or physical structure of soil. Secondly, during the degradation process, biodegradable plastics may generate microplastic particles that can potentially enter soil, water bodies, and organisms, thereby causing environmental impacts. Thirdly, using biodegradable plastics for food packaging may pose food safety hazards. For instance, under conditions such as high temperature, humidity, or prolonged usage, these plastics may release chemical substances that could potentially affect the quality and safety of food. Finally, the "Definition, Classification, Labeling, and Degradability Requirements of Biodegradable Plastics" released by China are not clear regarding the definition, classification, labeling, and degradation performance requirements of biodegradable plastics. Moreover, the cost of raw materials for biodegradable plastics is higher, and there may be cases of "pseudo-degradable" plastic products on the market. Also, it might have a negative impact on source separation and recycling. Therefore, whether large-scale promotion and use of biodegradable plastics is feasible in China requires further in-depth exploration and specific studies. Following are some references.
- Abdelmoez W.; Dahab I.; Ragab E.M.; Abdelsalam O.A.; Mustafa A. Bio- and oxo-degradable plastics: Insights on factsand challenges. Polym Adv Technol 2021, 32, 1981–1996. https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com-443.webvpn.nefu.edu.cn/doi/epdf/10.1002/pat.5253
- Qin M.; Chen C.; Song B., et al. A review of biodegradable plastics to biodegradable microplastics: Another ecological threat to soil environments? Journal of Cleaner Production 2021, 312, 127816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127816
- Goel V.; Luthra P.; Kapur G.; Ramakumar S. Biodegradable/Bio-plastics: Myths and Realities. Journal of Polymers and the Environment 2021, 29, 3079-3104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-021-02099-1
Author Response File: Author Response.doc
Reviewer 3 Report
Congratulations
The article presents a topic of great relevance and impact.
An exhaustive review of the information is made, bringing the historical data up to the present day.
The introduction is complete and well contextualized, leading the reader to understand the current situation.
Completely meets the objectives set.
The methodology is clear and concrete.
The results are shown sequentially, complying with the objectives presented.
Line 211 mentions the acronym MSW for the first time but does not say what it means.
In line 513 it mentions the SDGs, however, it does not make a direct reference to how plastic policies contribute to compliance with the SDGs in general or to some of them. Do any of the policies mentioned refer to the SDGs? It is suggested to include a paragraph in which this relationship is presented.
The suggestions are well developed, line 537-604
The tables and figures allow for greater clarity of the information presented, good job.
Author Response
Review 3：
Line 211 mentions the acronym MSW for the first time but does not say what it means.
Thank you very much. Revised to MSW (Municipal Solid Waste).
In line 513 it mentions the SDGs, however, it does not make a direct reference to how plastic policies contribute to compliance with the SDGs in general or to some of them. Do any of the policies mentioned refer to the SDGs? It is suggested to include a paragraph in which this relationship is presented.
Thank you and revised based on your suggestions as follows (L.526-529):
“Moreover, these efforts are likely to boost motivation for various domestic stakeholders to adopt measures to reduce plastic production, consumption, and mismanaged waste, contributing to achievement of the SDGs, specifically targets 12.4, 12.5, and 14.1 [48].”
(3)The suggestions are well developed, line 537-604
(4) The tables and figures allow for greater clarity of the information presented, good job Thank you very much for the above positive comments
Author Response File: Author Response.doc
Reviewer 4 Report
This paper reviews the policies related to plastic pollution and assesses the status and effectiveness, which is of great significance to further address the plastic pollution problem. However, there are still some minor issues that need to be modified.
1. In lines 232 to 234, "The ban covered 24 types of foreign waste imports, including plastic waste from domestic sources, unsorted waste paper, waste texts, and vanadium slug..." This refers to the prohibition of foreign waste imports, and why does it include waste from domestic source.
2. Suggest adding some specific practical examples in the article to prove the effectiveness of plastic policy implementatio.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Moderate editing of English language
Author Response
Review 4：
- In lines 232 to 234, "The ban covered 24 types of foreign waste imports, including plastic waste from domestic sources, unsorted waste paper, waste texts, and vanadium slug..." This refers to the prohibition of foreign waste imports, and why does it include waste from domestic source.
Sorry for the confusion it may have caused. It is the plastic waste generated by households in foreign countries.
- Suggest adding some specific practical examples in the article to prove the effectiveness of plastic policy implementation.
Added based on your suggestion as follows.
“Meanwhile, many local governments and private sectors have undertaken initia-tives to address plastic pollution. Beijing launched its Plastic Pollution Control Action Plan for 20202025 to reduce disposable plastic products, establish a yearly reporting system for key plastic industries, and create a culture of low plastic usage. Hainan Province comprehensively banned the production, sale, and use of single-use plastic products, including single-use plastic bags and tableware by 2020 and all non-degradable plastic products by 2025. Shanghai implemented a waste separation policy that requires households and companies to sort their trash into four categories and issues fines for defaulters. The private sectors are also involved in recycling post-consumer plastics, such as Suning's "Shared express box" initiative, which replac-es traditional paper-based express boxes and plastic packaging.” (L.481-491)
Author Response File: Author Response.doc
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors improved the manuscript satisfactorily according to the reviewers' comments.
Reviewer 2 Report
The authors answered all open questions. The manuscript now in publishable form
