(Yicai Global) Oct. 10 -- China will lead the world in formulating a global action plan that will push for using bamboo to replace some non-biodegradable plastics, the deputy director of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization said yesterday.

China will launch a ‘bamboo instead of plastic’ initiative with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, Yin Gangqiang said at a press conference. The organization, which is the first intergovernmental organization to be headquartered in China, has 49 member states.

Bamboo is a renewable green resource, which can be put into sustainable use once cultivated, Yin said. It grows fast, maturing in three to five years, requires low operating costs and offers outstanding carbon sequestration capacity. It also has other ecological values such as water conservation, preventing water seepage and soil erosion as well as purifying the air, he added.

Less than 10 percent of the plastic products produced worldwide is recycled, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. And of the 9.2 billion tons produced, 7 billion has been abandoned as waste.

Plastic pollution causes great harm to the ecosystems in the ocean and on land, and also exacerbates global climate change. The EU launched a total plastic ban in 2021 and up to now, more than 140 countries have formulated or issued plastic bans and restrictions.

China brought out a guidance document on controlling plastic pollution in 2020. And last November, 10 government departments, including the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the National Development and Reform Commission, proposed protecting and cultivating bamboo forests in order to build a complete modern bamboo industry.

The tree-like grass grows abundantly in China. The country has more than 7 million hectares of bamboo forests and there are over 500 species of the plant in the country, Yicai Global learned from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

There are more than 10,000 enterprises in China that make bamboo products, which are widely used in construction, packaging, furniture and other fields, according to expert estimates. However, most of these are small and medium-sized enterprises whose efficiency and risk management abilities are weak.

The industry is expected to be worth more than CNY700 billion (USD98.3 billion) by 2025 and CNY1 trillion (USD140.5 billion) by 2035.

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor