China’s Battle against Marine Plastic Pollution at the Local Level: A Case Study of Sanya City, Hainan Province

Abstract In the face of a rapidly unfolding marine plastic pollution crisis, China, the world’s largest plastic producer and consumer, has been thrust to the fore-front to regulate the growing plastic problem in stewardship of ecosystems. While a growing body of literature discusses China’s central-level efforts in addressing marine plastic pollution, a thorough overview of actions at the local level remains scant. This article uses Sanya City in Hainan Province as a case study to assess the local government’s capacity to formulate and implement environmental policies in achieving nationally set environmen-tal goals. Designated as a pilot for a ‘Zero Waste City’ and a ‘Model City’ for ecological civilization, Sanya has crafted regulatory approaches and en-forcement mechanisms to strengthen the governance of marine plastic pol-lution. A critique of the effectiveness and weaknesses of Sanya’s regulatory regime holds important implications for local-level environmental govern-ance of marine plastic pollution in China and many other parts of the world.