China amends law to combat excessive packaging

Lawmakers in China have passed an amendment to cut down on excessive packaging. An official document, posted on the Chinese Central Government’s website, said China’s legislature approved the amended version of the Law on the Promotion of Clean Production.
The Amendment to the Law on the Promotion of Clean Production, which will take effect in July, stipulates that companies should package their products in a manner that “well fits the content’s quality, size and cost and makes less packaging waste”.
According to the amended law, during the design process of products and packages, companies “should take into account what influence they will exert upon human health and environment and give preferred consideration to plans that use packaging in a non-poisonous, harmless, degradable and recyclable way” (Packaging News, 2 March 2012).