As the birthplace of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Lancang River, Qinghai's ecological security is crucial to the ecological pattern of China and even Asia. On October 30, Qinghai Province further improved its plastic pollution governance system, with the Qinghai Province Circular Economy Promotion Regulations taking effective implementation. A full-chain governance network, covering everything from legislation and enforcement to source control and end-of-life management, has gradually taken shape, providing solid support for tackling "white pollution" on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
As early as November 2021, Qinghai took the lead among China’s 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government by incorporating the "ban and restriction on the production, sale, and use of non-degradable disposable plastic products" into the Qinghai Province Circular Economy Promotion Regulations. This marked the first time that requirements for plastic bans and restrictions were solidified in the form of legislation. Building on this, Huangnan and Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures took the lead in exploring local legislation, successively issuing regulations on the management of non-degradable plastic products, and forming a legal governance system featuring "provincial overall planning + local refinement".
Since the implementation of these regulations, Qinghai has strictly controlled the production and circulation of plastic products, prohibited the entry of enterprises producing obsolete plastic products, and basically eliminated ultra-thin plastic shopping bags in large and medium-sized supermarkets. In the catering and takeaway sectors, degradable alternative products have been fully promoted, curbing the spread of "white pollution" at the source.
To address non-point source pollution in plateau agriculture, Qinghai innovatively launched a residual film recycling system featuring "collection by users → recycling by agents → resource utilization by enterprises". In Datong County of Xining City, through measures such as signing recycling agreements, fostering professional service organizations, and distributing over 7,000 advocacy leaflets, 1.1299 million kilograms of residual film were recycled in 2025 alone. This has helped stabilize Qinghai’s agricultural film recovery rate at over 90%. The residual film that once scattered in farmlands is now "turned from waste into treasure" through resource utilization.
In the postal and express delivery sector, Qinghai has secured financial support for five consecutive years to promote green transformation. At present, all postal and express delivery outlets in the province are equipped with waste recycling devices; recyclable transfer bags are basically in circulation across the province; the utilization rate of recyclable packaging for same-city express deliveries exceeds 10%; and non-standard plastic packaging has been fully phased out. These efforts have injected industry momentum into the ecological protection of the Three Rivers Source region.
Qinghai has focused on building a full-chain governance model covering "production control → use of alternatives → recycling and utilization → end-of-life cleanup". The province has cultivated 14 renewable resource recycling enterprises, 13 of which are engaged in plastic product recycling. It has also built one renewable resource trading market, significantly improving the efficiency of resource and energy utilization of plastic waste.
In key river basins, Qinghai has established a long-term mechanism for cleaning up plastic waste in the Yellow River Basin and Qinghai Lake Basin, launched special "floating waste cleanup" campaigns, and simultaneously promoted the treatment of plastic waste along roads and in rural living environments—restoring the clean appearance of the plateau’s rivers and lakes.
Facing challenges such as high costs of alternative products and difficulties in full-coverage supervision, Qinghai has clarified its next steps: strengthening the R&D of high-altitude and cold-resistant environmentally friendly alternative products, improving the construction of county-level recycling and sorting centers, intensifying supervision and law enforcement in all links, and promoting the institutionalization and regularization of plastic pollution governance.
From the Three Rivers Source to Qinghai Lake, and from farmlands to urban streets, Qinghai’s "plastic reduction" initiatives are making the plateau cleaner. This sense of responsibility and commitment to ecological protection is not only a tribute to the "Water Tower of China" but also a practice of green development. Let us join hands to contribute to the blue sky, white clouds, green mountains, and clear waters of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau!
