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China has always attached great importance to the problem of plastic packaging waste. Since the 1990s, a series of measures have been taken to reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging such as foam plastic tableware, ultra-thin plastic bags and plastic shopping bags, and to treat the pollution of waste plastic recycling and recycling industries.After more than 20 years of efforts, the production of plastic products increased by 11 times, "white pollution" significantly reduced;A large number of "scattered and dirty" enterprises and workshops have been renovated, and the environmental protection level of the waste plastic recycling industry has significantly improved.However, due to its low value and high recycling costs, packaging waste from new businesses such as takeout and express delivery has grown rapidly, and a considerable part of it is treated or discarded as garbage, which is difficult to meet the needs of green and low-carbon development in the new era.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to ecological progress. It has put forward a new concept of green development, set the goal of achieving peak carbon and carbon neutrality, and made a series of top-level designs, institutional arrangements, and decisions and arrangements, all of which provide fundamental guidance for moving toward a new era of ecological progress and building a beautiful China.The report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) clearly calls for "efforts to solve prominent environmental problems" and "strengthening solid waste and garbage disposal."General Secretary Xi Jinping and other leaders have repeatedly issued important instructions and instructions on "white pollution" and packaging waste from express delivery and takeout, requiring early consideration of the establishment of laws, standards and policy systems compatible with the green concept.The 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Outline of the 2035 Long-term Goals call for strengthening the prevention and control of plastic pollution up and down the chain.The Guiding Opinions of The State Council on Accelerating the Establishment and Improvement of a Green, Low-carbon and Circular Economic Development System require that a green and low-carbon lifestyle be advocated and plastic pollution should be firmly promoted throughout the chain.
I. Main problems
At present, the problem of plastic packaging waste not adapting to green and low-carbon development is mainly shown in:
1. With the rapid growth of new business forms, the recycling rate of plastic packaging waste has decreased
China's annual municipal solid waste output has exceeded 200 million tons for five consecutive years, with an annual growth rate of 6%.According to statistics, plastic waste accounts for 10%~25% of household garbage, which is mainly low value and difficult to recycle disposable plastic packaging waste, and is also the main source of "white pollution".In 2020, the amount of plastic products used in China will reach 90 million tons, and about 60 million tons of waste plastics will be produced in China, of which about 16 million tons will be physically recycled, accounting for 26.7 percent, the lowest in five years.
Take-out and express delivery are the world's leading and fast-growing new business in China.In 2016, the number of express deliveries reached 31.28 billion; in 2020, it reached 83.36 billion, an increase of 166% over the past four years.In the first half of 2021, the number will reach 49.4 billion, and it is estimated that for the whole year, the number will exceed 100 billion, or 72 per capita.In 2016, the number of online takeout customers reached 209 million, and in 2020, it reached 419 million, an increase of 100% in 4 years.In 2016, the number of users of mobile online food delivery reached 194 million and reached 418 million in 2020, an increase of 115% in four years.In 2020, the total order volume of the national food delivery industry exceeded 17.1 billion.While the amount of single-use plastic bags, boxes and forks used per order is small -- only a few to dozens of grams -- the total amount of plastic used and discarded across all takeaway orders is considerable.Although the parties concerned have taken a series of measures to reduce packaging and reuse, but due to the large base and high growth rate, still produce a large number of plastic packaging waste, due to low value, high recovery cost, limited recycling volume.
2. The risk assessment of additives in some plastic packaging is insufficient
China has strict regulations on materials and additives used in food packaging, allowing only ingredients that have been evaluated and proven safe to be added.However, other non-food packaging materials and additives have not been adequately studied and evaluated.In plastic packaging, in addition to the base resin, there are additives added to improve the performance of plastic, used to improve the flexibility, transparency, elasticity, hardness, strength, flame retardant, heat sealing, anti-fog, anti-aging and other characteristics of plastic products.If these plastic products are not properly disposed of, additives with waste plastic long-term immersion in water or residual in the soil, gradually diffused into the water and soil, directly or indirectly by people and animals for a long time intake and contact, reach a certain environmental concentration will cause harm to people or animals.
At present, the environmental release, environmental behavior and harm to ecology and health of toxic and harmful additives in plastics have not been paid enough attention, and the potential risks to human survival, reproduction and ecological balance as well as the prevention and control measures lack of accurate research.
3. Although plastic waste incineration reduces the amount of carbon emissions, it is still higher than the carbon emissions from recycling
China Environmental Protection Industry Association found that in recent years, China's urban household garbage production has grown rapidly, and the cost of landfill treatment has also increased with the strict environmental protection requirements.Urban solid waste incineration treatment has become an important solution for many cities to solve the garbage problem due to its advantages such as less land area, easy site selection, short treatment time, significant reduction (weight reduction is generally up to 70%, capacity reduction is generally up to 90%), complete harmless and recyclable waste heat.
According to the calculation that one ton of waste plastic incineration will emit 3.03 tons of CARBON dioxide, and one ton of carbon dioxide neutralization requires 55 ammodendron trees, in 2019, the production of plastic products in China's scale enterprises was 81.842 million tons, resulting in 63 million tons of waste plastic, 31% of which was incinerated, about 19.53 million tons, emitting about 59.18 million tons of CARBON dioxide.However, because burning waste plastics for power generation can save the amount of natural gas/coal used in thermal power generation, taking natural gas as an example to calculate the emission baseline, it is estimated that it can reduce about 4.45 million tons of CARBON dioxide.In 2020, about 60 million tons of plastic waste will be produced, and about 22 million tons will be incinerated, emitting 66.66 million tons of CARBON dioxide. Burning plastic waste for power generation can save the consumption of natural gas/coal for thermal power generation. Similarly, taking natural gas as an example to calculate the emission baseline, it is calculated that about 5.02 million tons of CARBON dioxide will be reduced.In the future, with the popularization and application of waste plastic recycling, carbon emissions will be lower and lower.Proper use of waste plastic can effectively promote the realization of carbon neutrality.
Second, countermeasures and suggestions
To implement the strategic plan of the Central Committee and achieve green and low-carbon development, we propose the following measures to address the above problems:
1. Advocate green consumption and promote the reduction of plastic packaging waste from the source
Reducing the use of plastic packaging, on the one hand, can reduce oil consumption, on the other hand, can reduce the production of plastic packaging waste, and then reduce environmental pollution, reduce carbon dioxide emissions.While strictly implementing existing laws and policies, we should strengthen publicity to guide the public to develop green consumption and living habits such as using less disposable plastic packaging and resisting excessive packaging.In the field of production and circulation, we will promote reusable bags and packing boxes to replace part of disposable plastic packaging.To promote smart lock-opening and reusable packing cases in the express delivery industry and reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging and plastic tape.In the takeaway industry, guide users to reduce the use and waste of disposable plastic tableware;To explore the replacement of some plastic packaging materials with bio-based materials such as plant fiber.
2. Pay attention to the environmental risks of plastic additives and promote the green development of plastic packaging industry
Study various additives in plastic, as well as the printing and packaging use of ink and pigment harm, especially with the waste plastic long-term immersion in water or residual in the soil, the long-term impact on the water environment or soil environment;Assess the health and environmental risks of various additives, inks and pigments.According to the magnitude of harm and risk, improve the standard of environmentally friendly packaging materials, formulate the list of prohibited and restricted use of additives and pigments for plastic packaging materials;Banning the addition of hazardous chemicals to plastics;Limit the content of toxic and harmful substances in plastics, guide and regulate the green development of plastic packaging materials and the whole industry.
3. Attach importance to the recyclable design of plastic packaging and promote the physical recovery of plastic waste
Compared to incineration for power generation and chemical recovery, plastic waste has the lowest physical recovery costs and the least CARBON dioxide emissions.At present, plastic packaging is not recyclable design, low use cost, low waste cost, high recovery cost, affecting the physical recovery of plastic waste.By promoting the recyclability design of plastic packaging waste, the same material and single material can be realized in the same scene, so as to reduce the difficulty and cost of physical recovery.
4. Attach importance to the chemical cycle of plastic waste to promote carbon reduction and efficiency improvement in the plastic industry
The waste plastics with poor quality, mixed composition and difficult to clean that can not be physically recovered were mostly mixed into the landfill or incineration for recycling heat energy.With the development of chemical recycling technology, these waste plastics, which cannot be physically recovered, can be decomposed into chemical raw materials such as olefin to remanufacture plastics and other chemicals (also known as chemical recycling).Whole life cycle of domestic authoritative research unit for plastic carbon research has shown that by processing 100000 tons of waste plastics $60 / ton, the international crude oil price system calculation, waste plastics manufacturing new plastic chemical cycles compared with burning waste plastics power generation, unit waste plastics carbon dioxide emissions by 21.5%, 75% carbon dioxide emissions per unit of output.The chemical cycle has higher environmental efficiency and resource efficiency than the energy recovery. The low-value plastic packaging waste which is difficult to be physically recycled into the original household waste is changed into the chemical cycle to make new plastics, which helps the whole industry to reduce carbon efficiency and reduce the pressure of carbon neutrality.
Three, endnotes
Plastics are irreplaceable in some areas and will continue to be used for a long time and in a wide range.In order to solve the problem of plastic packaging waste, it is the best choice to take measures such as reducing the amount at the source, improving the environment-friendly level of materials, and classifying and recycling according to the status of plastic waste.
(Author: Wei Honglian, Ph.D., Chief Engineer of Solid Waste and Chemical Management Technology Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment)
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