The Ecological and Environmental Code of the People’s Republic of China shall come into force officially on August 15.

The Ecological and Environmental Code of the People’s Republic of China will officially take effect on August 15, 2026. Bringing plastic pollution control under formal codified legislation, it establishes rigid supervision and penalty rules for non-biodegradable single-use plastic bags and courier plastic packaging.

The Code tightens controls over plastic packaging used by e-commerce, express delivery and food delivery sectors. Relevant platforms and enterprises are required to regularly report their consumption volume of plastic products. Penalties for violations have been significantly increased: manufacturers and sellers of restricted single-use plastic products may face fines up to three times the value of the involved goods.

Upon enforcement, market regulators will ramp up crackdowns on counterfeit biodegradable plastic packaging. In the long run, qualified biodegradable packaging and recyclable packaging made from recycled materials will enjoy broader market prospects. Manufacturers along the plastic packaging industrial chain shall accelerate product upgrading, complete testing and certification to meet updated legal compliance standards.