Recycling: Promoting the harmonious development of plastic packaging materials and the environment (1)

As we all know, plastic packaging materials because of light weight, high strength, good corrosion resistance, and easy to multiple, multi-layer composite, made of adaptable multi-purpose packaging materials, especially in terms of saving resources, saving energy compared with traditional packaging, With a relatively large market competitiveness, it has become popular in the packaging market. Therefore, in the past ten years, both rigid plastic containers and plastic bottles have been steadily developing. Market practice shows that the continuous and steady growth and widespread use of plastic packaging materials is a symbol of the progress of the times. At the same time, it also shows that because the disposable plastic materials and products such as packaging are not easy to recycle and reuse, but it is difficult to be naturally degraded in the environment, the pollution caused by the waste even to the environment cannot be ignored.

1 Status of Municipal Solid Waste in the World

At present, the world is facing severe environmental problems. Water pollution, consumption of the ozone layer, air pollution, waste of non-renewable resources, and the transitional use of agricultural land due to the continuous growth of the global population pose serious challenges to the human environment. Threats and challenges. In industrialized countries, the management of the production and treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) is also seen as an important part of the governance of environmental issues.

With the continuous development of the economy and the ever-increasing level of people's living standards, MSW has also grown rapidly. According to reports, the amount of MSW generated each year in the United States is about 163,000 kt, and the per capita amount is about 636 kg. The EU member states produce about 180,000 kt each year (excluding commercial waste). The annual waste handling capacity in the United Kingdom is 120,000 kt and Japan is 50,000 kt. Per capita garbage emissions in various countries range from 400 to 600 kg, for example, 450 kg in France. In China, only 136,000 kt of solid waste is removed from the city, and per capita annual production of live garbage is about 400 kg.

2 The Challenge of Environmental Problems in Plastic Packaging Materials

At present, the annual output of plastics in the world has exceeded 190,000 kt. Its use has penetrated into various sectors of the national economy and people's cultural and material life. It has become the four pillar industries in the material field along with steel, wood and cement. The development of plastics has indeed brought civilization to mankind. It has not only made up for the insufficiency of some traditional materials and quantities, but has also become an indispensable material for technological progress in certain sectors. In the future, plastics will continue to develop and will continue to play an extremely effective role in the future economic development. However, in the course of its development, especially plastic packaging materials will encounter some problems to be solved. The first is the environment in plastic applications. problem.

At present, the weight ratio of plastic waste in MSWs of industrialized countries in the West has been increasing year by year. Some countries have reached 10% or more, and the volume ratio is about 30%. In the global MSW, there are approximately 1/2 to 1/3 are packaging wastes, such as 29.3% for packaging waste in the United States and 70.7% for non-packaged waste, with 4.1% and 5.5% for plastic waste and 40% for Japan, and approximately 40% in Japan. 40~70%, China 30~40%. According to reports, the world's plastic waste is more than 50,000 kt per year. A considerable number of these are disposable products in the fields of packaging and agricultural products, such as packaging films (bags), hollow containers, tableware, garbage bags, and plastic films. These products belong to the category of "short-lived" plastics, generally 1 to 3 months. For half a year, as long as a year or so, most of the garbage comes along with the MSW processing system, and some are discarded at will.

Because these wastes are large, scattered and dirty, they are difficult to collect and recycle, and most of their raw materials are polyolefins, which are inert materials and are extremely insensitive to microorganisms. Therefore, they are difficult to biodegrade in the environment, and they are negative to the environment. The influence and balance of ecological damage have become increasingly severe, and they have thus been censured by the public. The developed countries in Europe and America have formulated relevant laws and regulations to restrict, ban, forcefully collect, formulate recycling indicators, collect sewage charges, or impose high taxes on disposable plastic products that cannot be degraded or recycled easily after use. The introduction of these laws and regulations is undoubtedly a serious challenge and threat to the development of plastic packaging materials.

In the past decade, developed countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan have successively formulated relevant environmental protection laws and regulations, and implemented partial bans, restrictions, mandatory collections or collection of pollution fees on plastic materials and products that are not easily recycled or hardly degraded in the natural environment. And other measures. Due to the large amount of plastic used in the packaging field, many of the regulations for the recycling of plastic packaging are attached to the disposal of packaging waste.

2.1 Germany Germany's laws and regulations regarding the recycling of plastic packaging waste are the most complete in the world. Its management attitude is very clear: First is "to avoid production" and then "recycling" and "final disposal".

In June 1990, the German government promulgated the first packaging waste disposal regulations - the "Regulations for Packaging Waste Disposal." It stipulates that the unavoidable disposable plastic packaging waste must be reused or recycled, and each enterprise is obliged to bear the responsibility for recovery, but it can also entrust the recycling company to complete the replacement. The German System of Waste and Recycling (Dual System Deutschland), abbreviated as DSD, also known as Green Point, is a company that specializes in waste recycling established under the Act. The company also set up a DKR joint-stock company to recover waste plastic packaging. In 1991, Germany issued the “Regulations on Packaging”, which stipulated that 60% of recycled plastics must be recovered as materials, and another 40% can be recycled as materials, landfill methods or energy recovery methods. This recycling target must be based on nation-wide statistics. After the verified data report is submitted to the national environmental department, the industrial and commercial enterprises that have fulfilled their recovery obligations can be exempt from part of the tax. In 1995, Germany issued the "Circular Economy Law and Waste Law." In 2001, the plastic packaging recycling rate reached 87%. A large amount of plastic waste was used for incineration, energy recovery, and a part of recycled pellets for the production of recycled products such as barrels, door and window profiles, cables, and automobile frame supports. .

In the “Regulations on Packaging”, a strict classification of domestic waste has been introduced, which requires consumers to put plastic bags or plastic packaging materials into yellow bins for recycling. But at present, the regulations for plastic waste have changed. In December 2002, the German Supreme Court issued the latest decree: all stores are required to begin collecting packaging deposits for canned and bottled drinks from customers in January 2003. PET plastic bottles used in beer and beverages, including bottles of foods up to 1.5kg, are subject to 0.25 Euros; for packages over 1.5kg, double deposits are required. The store returns the deposit to the customer when the customer returns the package. However, the packaging of wine, liquor, milk, fruit juices and other commodities is not included in the list.

According to a survey by DKR Recycling, 89% of German consumers favor plastic recycling; about 40% of Germans refuse to use packaging that has no value. It can thus be seen that the country’s outstanding achievements in waste recovery have benefited from the environmental awareness of the general public.

The relevant regulations and practical operations formulated by the European Union are basically borrowed from Germany. EU countries have also formulated specific targets for plastic packaging recycling. Such as the Dutch "Package Covenant", Austria's "Packaging Regulations" and "Policy Regulations", France's "Container Law" and "Packaging Waste Transport Law", Britain's "Packaging Waste Regulations" and so on. However, the recycling rate of plastic packaging has only reached 4 countries, of which Germany, Austria and Belgium are at the forefront.