Plastic pollution is recognized as one of the most urgent global environmental concerns. China is the top producer and consumer of plastics and creates the most plastic waste globally. To evaluate policy options to control plastic pollution in China, we first reviewed the relevant policies and action plans in place. Then, we examined plastic-material flows and changes at the national level based on officially published data to evaluate the current situation and efficacy of policies at the macro-level. Results showed that 2016, the start of the 13th Five-Year Plan, was a pivotal year in the history of China’s plastic policies tackling plastic issues nationally and internationally. Since 2016, the growth trend in the production and consumption of plastic products has slowed and the recycling rate has risen, surpassing 30% in 2021. To further tackle plastic pollution, key suggestions with important policy implications were provided, covering better integration of policies, the combined management of vertical–horizontal governance, tracking-system implementation, the introduction of a quality-certification system, the development of behaviour-based consumer-oriented solutions, the promotion of stakeholder collaboration, and the need for appropriate post-COVID-19 policies.

With the steady growth of the global population and the accelerated urbanization process, the carbon footprint resulting from food waste has a significant impact on the environment and sustainable development. Considering Shanghai’s significance as a major urban center in China and a global hub for economic and cultural activities, this study primarily aims to accurately estimate household food waste generation and calculate the carbon footprint related to edible food waste. It analyzes the factors influencing household food waste generation and reviews the anti-food waste-related policies at both the national and Shanghai regional levels. The study reveals that although the Shanghai municipal government attaches great importance to the issue of food waste, the current policies mainly focus on the catering industry, and there is still a need for further strengthening measures to address food waste at the household level. In Shanghai, the per capita daily food waste generation is 0.57 kg, with 43.42% being edible food waste, contributing to a per capita daily carbon footprint of 1.17 kgCO₂eq. Employing the logistic regression analysis to scrutinize the characteristics of the respondents, it is ascertained that education level and annual household income significantly influence food waste generation. In addition, excessive food quantities and expiration dates lead to high-frequency food waste. The culmination of this study is the formulation of a series of pragmatic and impactful policy recommendations aimed at curbing the carbon footprint that stems from food waste.

Food waste has become a pressing global issue in recent years. In China, the issue of food waste has become increasingly severe. As a provincial capital city, Harbin is also a major agricultural city in China with distinct urban and rural features. This paper uses Harbin as a case study to evaluate different strategies for preventing and reducing food waste based on these urban–rural differences. This research is based on official data on household food waste in urban and rural areas of Harbin, as well as data collected from 333 telephone surveys through stratified random sampling. Independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the survey data, followed by a review of existing food waste policies and strategies. Our findings show that Harbin has had a positive response in adhering to national anti-food waste policies. However, its implementation has not been effective. There is a continuous increase in food waste generation. Moreover, gender, level of education, and household annual income have a significant impact on residents’ food waste habits and there are significant differences between urban and rural areas in terms of “eating out” and “ordering food ingredients”. The average daily amount of food waste generated by urban households is 3216.31 g, which is 2.4 times that of rural households. There are also differences in the causes of food waste between urban and rural residents due to different diets and eating habits. As a result, feasible and effective policy recommendations have been proposed to reduce food waste in response to these urban–rural differences.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in face mask demand, resulting in increased face mask waste and environmental impacts. This study investigates mask usage patterns and the environmental impacts of single-use and cloth masks across three phases: pre-COVID-19, COVID-19, and the new normal. A comprehensive survey conducted in five cities across four Asian countries reveals a surge in mask usage during COVID-19 (6.81 pieces/week), followed by a decline in the new normal (3.73 pieces/week), though usage remained higher than pre-COVID-19 levels (1.46 pieces/week). For single-use masks, age significantly impacts usage in all cities, while gender and education level affect usage in Shanghai, Harbin, and Depok. Household income influences mask use in Shanghai and Harbin. For cloth masks, education level significantly correlates with usage in most cities. The study highlights the significant environmental impact of mask use, particularly in densely populated urban areas. Switching to cloth masks for one year could reduce carbon footprints by 44.27–81.9 million kgCO₂eq, decrease solid waste by 34.81–52.41 million kg, and reduce microplastic emissions by 6.50 to 15.56 trillion particles in the first 24 h after disposal. However, this transition may increase water usage by 1.73–1.86 billion m³H₂Oeq. The study also offers policy recommendations on mask usage and disposal.

In recent years, China has achieved notable results with its poverty alleviation program, the focus of which is shifting toward the comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization. The role played by sustainable human resources in agriculture is becoming increasingly prominent. In this context, China’s sustainable talent in agriculture is used as the research object, and a neural network analysis method is applied to construct a prediction model of sustainable agricultural talent to forecast its supply and demand. The prediction aims to provide a scientific basis for the strategic planning of talent development for rural revitalization. Based on the forecast results by region and province, we analyzed the level of coordinated development of talent supply and demand to provide a reference for the coordinated development of supply and demand of sustainable talent in agriculture in China. The results showed that a large sustainable agricultural talent demand gap exists in China. The overall talent supply and demand coupling coordination level is low; we found significant differences among different regions and provinces, characterized by decreasing order of the northeast, central, west, and east. According to the socio-economic development level, agricultural economic foundation, and other factors, we divided the provinces into six types for analysis. To promote the coordinated development of sustainable human agricultural resources, talent policy support at the national level is required to reduce the loss of human resources to other countries; at the regional level, the talent environment for rural revitalization should be optimized to increase the attraction of talent. At the provincial level, agricultural and forestry education resources should be created to increase the supply of sustainable agricultural talent.