A woman carries a plastic bag in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province on Sunday, June 15, 2008. [Photo: yunnnan.cn]

Starting from January 1, 2009, a province-wide ban forbidding the production, selling and use of plastic bags will take effect in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local newspaper Chuncheng Evening News reported on Sunday.

From that day, all enterprises in Yunnan, including supermarkets, department stores, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and retailers will only be allowed to provide environmentally-friendly bags, be it free or paid.

Plastic bags from other provinces in China or any other country will not be allowed into Yunnan, the ban stipulates.

In addition, plastic bag manufacturers in the province will have to shut down their business and switch to producing other goods next year.

On June 1, retailers across China stopped supplying plastic bags that are less than 0.025 mm thick follwing a ban by China's State Council. Instead, shops offer paid recyclable plastic bags to consumers. Yunnan's ban will eliminate the use of all plastic bags, no matter how thick or thin they are.