Dual role of agricultural plastic in China’s food security and green transition: policy progress and prospects

In the context of food security and the greening of agriculture, the sustainable management of agricultural plastics is critical. Although essential to agricultural production, agricultural plastics pose significant environmental risks, particularly in the waste management phase, requiring urgent in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jingwen CHENG, Kai WANG, Changrong YAN, Xuejun LIU, Xin’er SHI, Ji MA, Chengtao WEN
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Higher Education Press 2026-03-01
Series:Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2025625
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849390254329430016
author Jingwen CHENG
Kai WANG
Changrong YAN
Xuejun LIU
Xin’er SHI
Ji MA
Chengtao WEN
author_facet Jingwen CHENG
Kai WANG
Changrong YAN
Xuejun LIU
Xin’er SHI
Ji MA
Chengtao WEN
author_sort Jingwen CHENG
collection DOAJ
description In the context of food security and the greening of agriculture, the sustainable management of agricultural plastics is critical. Although essential to agricultural production, agricultural plastics pose significant environmental risks, particularly in the waste management phase, requiring urgent intervention. Source reduction and effective recycling are key solutions. Based on a systematic review of policy documents, this study analyzed the evolution of China’s agricultural plastics management policies. This policy framework has progressed through three stages. The first stage focused on increasing production and promoting technology, leading to widespread adoption of agricultural plastics but weak environmental regulation. In the second stage, policies began balancing production growth with environmental protection, with stronger environmental regulations and regional successes, but nationwide systematic management remains inadequate. The third stage emphasizes agricultural sustainability, promoting life-cycle management and regionally differentiated management. Although recycling rates have improved significantly, a long-term sustainable management mechanism is still lacking, and there are many challenges to source reduction and effective recycling. Based on this analysis and incorporating international experience, a set of key strategies is proposed for sustainable management, including establishing a unified national framework with region-specific programs, advancing technological innovation and adoption, and integrating environmental regulations with market mechanisms.
format Article
id doaj-art-588619acd8a747afab80ed7ea4a694df
institution Kabale University
issn 2095-7505
language English
publishDate 2026-03-01
publisher Higher Education Press
record_format Article
series Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering
spelling doaj-art-588619acd8a747afab80ed7ea4a694df2025-08-20T03:41:43ZengHigher Education PressFrontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering2095-75052026-03-011312562510.15302/J-FASE-2025625Dual role of agricultural plastic in China’s food security and green transition: policy progress and prospectsJingwen CHENG0Kai WANG1Changrong YAN2Xuejun LIU3Xin’er SHI4Ji MA5Chengtao WEN62. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China2. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China3. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China2. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China1. College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China1. College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China1. College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, ChinaIn the context of food security and the greening of agriculture, the sustainable management of agricultural plastics is critical. Although essential to agricultural production, agricultural plastics pose significant environmental risks, particularly in the waste management phase, requiring urgent intervention. Source reduction and effective recycling are key solutions. Based on a systematic review of policy documents, this study analyzed the evolution of China’s agricultural plastics management policies. This policy framework has progressed through three stages. The first stage focused on increasing production and promoting technology, leading to widespread adoption of agricultural plastics but weak environmental regulation. In the second stage, policies began balancing production growth with environmental protection, with stronger environmental regulations and regional successes, but nationwide systematic management remains inadequate. The third stage emphasizes agricultural sustainability, promoting life-cycle management and regionally differentiated management. Although recycling rates have improved significantly, a long-term sustainable management mechanism is still lacking, and there are many challenges to source reduction and effective recycling. Based on this analysis and incorporating international experience, a set of key strategies is proposed for sustainable management, including establishing a unified national framework with region-specific programs, advancing technological innovation and adoption, and integrating environmental regulations with market mechanisms.https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2025625Agricultural plasticsustainable managementfood securitygreen transitionpolicy recommendations
spellingShingle Jingwen CHENG
Kai WANG
Changrong YAN
Xuejun LIU
Xin’er SHI
Ji MA
Chengtao WEN
Dual role of agricultural plastic in China’s food security and green transition: policy progress and prospects
Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Agricultural plastic
sustainable management
food security
green transition
policy recommendations
title Dual role of agricultural plastic in China’s food security and green transition: policy progress and prospects
title_full Dual role of agricultural plastic in China’s food security and green transition: policy progress and prospects
title_fullStr Dual role of agricultural plastic in China’s food security and green transition: policy progress and prospects
title_full_unstemmed Dual role of agricultural plastic in China’s food security and green transition: policy progress and prospects
title_short Dual role of agricultural plastic in China’s food security and green transition: policy progress and prospects
title_sort dual role of agricultural plastic in china s food security and green transition policy progress and prospects
topic Agricultural plastic
sustainable management
food security
green transition
policy recommendations
url https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2025625
work_keys_str_mv AT jingwencheng dualroleofagriculturalplasticinchinasfoodsecurityandgreentransitionpolicyprogressandprospects
AT kaiwang dualroleofagriculturalplasticinchinasfoodsecurityandgreentransitionpolicyprogressandprospects
AT changrongyan dualroleofagriculturalplasticinchinasfoodsecurityandgreentransitionpolicyprogressandprospects
AT xuejunliu dualroleofagriculturalplasticinchinasfoodsecurityandgreentransitionpolicyprogressandprospects
AT xinershi dualroleofagriculturalplasticinchinasfoodsecurityandgreentransitionpolicyprogressandprospects
AT jima dualroleofagriculturalplasticinchinasfoodsecurityandgreentransitionpolicyprogressandprospects
AT chengtaowen dualroleofagriculturalplasticinchinasfoodsecurityandgreentransitionpolicyprogressandprospects