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On May 13th, the Shanghai Market Supervision and Administration Bureau released the "Reply to the 0667th Representative's Suggestion of the Third Session of the 16th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress", responding to the suggestion "on Popularizing and promoting fully biodegradable Materials" raised by Representative Huang Dingcong. After research, the handling situation is replied as follows:
Plastic pollution control is an important issue in global ecological and environmental protection. Promoting fully biodegradable materials is a key path to achieving plastic substitution and reducing environmental pollution. We agree with your suggestion on improving the relevant quality standards and certification system for fully biodegradable materials.
I. Relevant work situation
(1) Standard situation
According to Article 11 and Article 12 of the Standardization Law, recommended national standards shall be formulated by the administrative department for standardization under The State Council. Industry standards shall be formulated by the relevant administrative departments of The State Council and filed with the administrative department for standardization of The State Council.
At present, China has issued some national standards related to biodegradable materials. Among them, national standards such as "Degradation Performance and Labeling Requirements for Biodegradable Plastics and Products", "Fully Biodegradable Polyglycolic acid (PGA)", and "Determination of the Final Aerobic Biodegradation Capacity of Materials under Controlled Composting Conditions by the Method of Measuring the Released Carbon Dioxide" have clearly defined common requirements such as the biodegradation rate and labeling of materials, as well as technical requirements for upstream raw materials. And testing methods for different degradation environments such as compost, fresh water, ocean, and soil; National standards such as "Biodegradable Plastic Shopping Bags", "General Technical Requirements for Disposable Biodegradable Tableware", and "Fully Biodegradable Agricultural Ground Cover Films" have clearly defined the technical requirements for products in key areas.
The relevant industry associations in this city have formulated group standards related to biodegradable materials such as "Rapid Detection Method for Biodegradable Plastic Products - Infrared Spectroscopy" and "Biodegradable Polybutylene Terephthalate Adipate Resin (PBAT)". Among them, the group standard "Rapid Detection Method for Biodegradable Plastic Products - Infrared Spectroscopy" aims to address the technical issues of long inspection and testing cycles, high costs, and limited random inspection frequencies for biodegradable products. It uses infrared technology to achieve rapid screening of fully biodegradable materials.
(II) Certification Status
According to Article 4 and Article 17 of the "Regulations on Certification and Accreditation", China implements a unified supervision and administration system for certification and accreditation. The basic norms and rules for certification are formulated by the supervision and administration department for certification and accreditation under The State Council. Where the duties of relevant departments of The State Council are involved, they shall be formulated by the State Administration for Certification and Accreditation in conjunction with relevant departments of The State Council. For new certification fields where no certification rules have been formulated yet, certification bodies may formulate their own certification rules and report them to the certification and accreditation supervision and administration department of The State Council.
At present, the country has not yet established a dedicated certification system for fully biodegradable materials. However, in the unified green product certification and labeling system, products such as packaging bags, fillers, and tapes made from biodegradable raw materials have been included in the green product certification directory for express packaging. Up to now, a total of 2 enterprises in this city have obtained the green product certification for their fully biodegradable express delivery packaging bags.
Ii. Plans for the Next Steps of Work
Next, our bureau will actively adopt your suggestions. First, we will work with industry authorities to focus on the specific application scenarios of biodegradable materials in industries such as textiles, medical care, agriculture, packaging, and catering, as well as technical fields such as green and low-carbon biodegradable materials and full life cycle environmental impact assessment. Encourage industry organizations and technical institutions to formulate scientific, unified, leading domestic and internationally aligned group standards, increase the supply of standards, meet market innovation and needs, and create a fair competitive environment for enterprises.
Second, in coordination with the industry's competent authorities, based on market demand, encourage fully biodegradable material producers to adopt internationally recognized conformity assessment methods to carry out relevant product, service and management system certifications. At the same time, support certification bodies in conducting corresponding certification technology research and development and investment, formulate relevant certification rules for fully biodegradable materials in accordance with relevant laws, regulations and provisions, and file them with the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China for the record.
Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau
May 13, 2025
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