Village on Tibetan plateau bans plastic products to protect environment

Residents of a Tibetan village in Northwest China’s Qinghai Province are boycotting plastic products to save the area’s environment.

Although this area is still considered to be one of the cleanest regions on earth, the modern lifestyle has brought damage to its ecosystem in recent years, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Sunday.

To tackle this problem, and set an example to other parts of the region, residents of Jianzha village in Qinghai Province made their village a “zero-waste” zone, where all residents volunteered to reject plastic waste.

Not only have they boycotted plastic waste, they also require all visitors to take away any rubbish visitors bring into the village.

Wang Xiaoyi, from Chinese Academy of Social Science, pointed out to the Beijing Youth Daily that one of the problems is that plastic waste does not degrade.

Village residents have also ditched canned beverages in recent years, and replaced plastic products with other things, such as wooden ones.

Villagers are also setting up environmental groups to protect the local environment. For example, some committees protect local birds, plants and water.

“With advances in ecological conservation on the QinghaiTibet Plateau, there has been a profound change in how people think and live,” said a white paper issued by the State Council Information Office.