As the year 2020 drew to a close, Heinrich Boell Stiftung Beijing Representative Office hosted a launch event for its Plastic Atlas (Chinese version) . The sunny mid-December afternoon in a traditional Beijing courtyard provided a valuable opportunity for practitioners from various Chinese civil society organizations to present their work on plastic pollution and discuss their respective approaches.
The President of Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Barbara Unmüßig, introduced the background of the Plastic Atlas – focusing on the urgency of fighting against plastic pollution and the joint efforts required to curb ongoing trends. She also pointed to the positive impact the publication had already made in a number of places around the globe and she particularly emphasized the important contributions made by a number of organizations and networks that work on curbing plastic production and consumption in China. Three representatives of such organizations then introduced their own experiences and approaches. Dr. Mao Dao, board member of Plastic Free China, introduced the work done by this network in order to advocate for less plastic use in both delivery and e-commerce industries. Ms. Yue Caixuan, representing the Zero Waste Alliance, presented original research that compared consumer behavior in two cities in order to evaluate the role of “decomposable plastic bags” in efforts to ban disposable plastic bags. Ms. Tang Beijia, the founder of a media platform dedicated to promoting a zero-waste lifestyle, shared suggestions and tips to cut plastic use from a consumer’s perspective.
Around 30 participants joined the discussion and shared their views regarding future action needed to address plastic pollution.
