It's been ten years since China placed a ban on free plastic bags. It certainly had a knock-on effect, with supermarkets and shopping malls reporting huge reductions. However, this new era coincided with break-neck development of China's food delivery and online shopping industries -- and all the packaging that comes with them. Following much public skepticism over the ban, our reporter Li Jianhua got some reaction on the streets of Beijing today.

The ban on free plastic bags was initially seen as a quite effective deterrent, but consumer products need packaging to be successfully delivered. So when the food delivery and online shopping industries took off, so did the need for more more plastic.

According to research, the number of people ordering over the Internet in China will soon hit 300 million, a near 20 percent increase on 12 months ago.

So what does the general public feel about all of this?

DUAN YING WAITRESS, SUBWAY RESTAURANT "We use at least 50 plastic bags on average everyday, as the food delivery service platforms get larger. Now people prefer ordering online and, according to our plastic bags inventory, we are obviously using many more than before."

According to the State Post Bureau's official website, China's express delivery industry used nearly 15 billion plastic bags last year, many of them non-degradable, which, of course, has consequences for the environment.

ZHANG SHENGJIE COURIER, TTK EXPRESS "We have about 50-60 express packages per day on average. On weekends and holidays, we have much more. We usually use cartons and plastic bags for packing, but more plastic bags."

But, despite the increase in the use of plastic bags, some businesses are looking for greener work-arounds to the problem.

DUAN YING WAITRESS, SUBWAY RESTAURANT "Now our store uses environmentally-friendly plastic bags, and we also recommend our customers to use cotton bags for shopping."

Meanwhile, the public seem to be behind any effort which means there's a lower demand for plastic bags

RESIDENT BEIJING "Our government should vigorously promote environmental protection and the production of degradable plastics. Residents can also sort their garbage, so that plastic bags don't go everywhere. And try to use paper bags for food deliveries."

RESIDENT BEIJING "I hope society can promote and enhance everyone's awareness around environmental protection, and we need to encourage our family members to use recyclable bags and trolleys for their shopping."

RESIDENT BEIJING "The ban on plastic bags is no longer very effective for environmental protection. I guess the government should consolidate the relative rules and regulations, or implement a tax on plastic bags. The classification bins on the streets also need to be further subdivided, and the neighborhood committees or communities should spread awareness about environmentally-friendly methods, so people can make full use of these classification bins."

The NDRC has realised that the ban on free plastic bags is no longer enough, so to take that next important step, it's hoping it can get the full cooperation of the public and private sectors, as well as the general public. Li Jianhua, CGTN, Beijing.