Recycling and Strategy of Packaging Waste in China

[Abstract] This article analyzes the current situation of packaging waste recycling in China, proposes a model of packaging waste recycling system, and elaborates the structure and operating mechanism of the recycling system. Finally, it is recommended that the external environment for the recovery of packaging waste be improved through the government's macro regulation and control, formulation and improvement of packaging and packaging waste recycling regulations, and raising public awareness of environmental protection.

[Key words] resource packaging, waste recycling system, packaging regulations

Environmental protection and the rational use of resources are an urgent and arduous task. Packing waste is a source of pollution, but it is also a resource that can be used. At present, the recycling of packaging waste has attracted the attention of all countries in the world. There are numerous research conferences and research materials related to packaging waste disposal. In China, due to the rapid development of the packaging industry, the problem of packaging waste has become increasingly prominent. However, China has not yet established a scientific and complete waste recycling and treatment system, and the laws and regulations for the recycling of packaging wastes have yet to be improved. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to and study the recycling of packaging waste.

I. Ecological and economic benefits of packaging waste recycling

The packaging sector is the sector with the highest rate of conversion of various materials into waste. The recycling of packaging waste has both economic purposes: it turns waste into treasure, and also has the purpose of protecting ecological balance. The economic and environmental value of Beijing's daily living garbage can be recovered as follows: 1,500 tons of waste paper, if recycled, it can produce 1,200 tons of good paper, save 6,000 cubic meters of wood, use less than 360 tons of soda ash, and reduce the pollution discharge of paper by 75%. Saving 770,000 degrees; waste glass about 1,500 tons, if recycled glass manufacturing, can save 100 tons of quartz sand, use less 375 tons of soda ash, save 90 tons of feldspar powder, coal 150 tons, saving 600,000 degrees.

The fastest growing paper packaging materials in packaging materials have become the focus of development and utilization because of their obvious ecological benefits and economic benefits. According to the current recovery level, recycling 140,000 tons of cartons a year will save 80,000 tons of coal, 49 million tons of coal, 23.8 tons of pulp and straw, and 11,000 tons of caustic soda.

The facts show that using renewable resources such as packaging waste to reprocess materials can greatly save primary resources, reduce energy consumption, and reduce environmental pollution. According to statistics, when using scrap iron, waste aluminum cans, waste paper, etc. to reconstruct steel, aluminum, paper, etc., the proportion of energy that can be saved, the proportion of air and pollution reduction are quite astonishing, as shown in Table 1. .

Table 1 Ratio of Energy Savings and Air, Water Pollution Reduction

Aluminium Paper Energy Saving % % 65 95-97 70-75
Air pollution reduction% 85 95 74
Water pollution reduction% 75 97 35

From Table 1, it can be seen that the recycling of packaging waste can bring incalculable ecological, economic, and social benefits. While reducing production costs and pollution, it also maintains ecological balance. Moreover, the establishment of a new recycling system or a new industry will provide more employment opportunities for our country. Today, there are more than 80,000 scavengers in Beijing and there are budgets for experts. If Beijing seriously develops the waste industry, the direct economic benefits will be at least 1.12 billion yuan, and the employment problem of 100,000 people will be solved.

Second, the status of recycling waste packaging in China

At present, the annual amount of packaging waste in China is about 16 million tons, and it is still growing at a rate of more than 105 per year. The recycling rate of other packaging wastes is quite low except for beer bottles and plastic turnover boxes. The entire packaging product is very low. The recovery rate is still less than 20% of the total output of the packaged product. This has led to many problems such as the massive consumption of natural resources, the disposal of waste, the increase in waste management pressure, and the environmental impact of waste. In recent years, under the guidance of relevant national and local government authorities' policies and regulations, the recycling of packaging waste in China has made great progress, but the overall situation is not optimistic.

Problems with recycling

(1) The classification and recycling of packaging waste in China is seriously lagging behind

At present, there is almost no work on the classification of garbage in Chengdu. All kinds of packaging waste and kitchen waste are mixed together, and it is difficult to use the available resources because they are buried or incinerated. China's state-owned recycling system has been dismantled. Although there is a spontaneous private recycling system, it does not have specialized sorting and processing methods. The classification of packaging waste is entirely based on manual sorting, which cannot achieve accurate classification, making it difficult to carry out later processing, and even processing can only obtain very primitive and rough products. Moreover, since there is no dedicated classified waste recovery box, the waste recovery process is not only complicated but also the waste is generally re-contaminated. For example, China's polyester (PET) processing and processing companies have chosen to import foreign waste PET bottles instead of domestic waste PET bottles.

(2) The chaos of recycling of packaging products in China

China's past garbage classification tradition is supported by a recycling system that relies on a single government administrative action. In recent years, due to economic and conceptual reasons, the original recycling system and channels have been ineffective, and the recycling system based on the market has not yet been established. Commercial, light industry, street, civil affairs, supply and marketing departments all engage in recycling work. Among them, the recycling of paper and glass is also acceptable, and the recycling of plastics and metal containers is poor. However, most of the recovered products were sold by self-employed individuals and idlers to small paper mills, small aluminum plants, and small plastic granulating plants opened everywhere. The utilization rate is very low, resources are wasted, energy is wasted, wastes are made, and secondary pollution is serious.

(3) The legislation of packaging waste recycling in China needs to be strengthened and improved

From the 1980s to the present, various departments such as scientific research, production, transportation, storage, circulation and use of environmental protection, labor, foreign trade, commodity inspection, insurance, and packaging materials and containers have been working on the disposal and utilization of packaging waste, but There are still no laws and regulations for the disposal of packaging waste that are suitable for China's national conditions. In addition, the legislation on the recycling and disposal of packaging waste is relatively weak. The "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution," which is involved in the existing laws, stipulates that producers of products should adopt easy recycling, treatment, disposal or environmental protection. The easy-to-use product packaging is required to be recycled, recycled, and utilized according to national regulations. However, there are at least two problems in the implementation of the law: (1) The law does not specify specific standards for “easy-to-recycle, disposal, or environmentally acceptable product packaging” nor does it explicitly specify which “National regulations” for recycling, recycling, and utilization; (2) From the objective environment, the conditions under which the provisions of the Law are implemented are not yet met, and how the packaging waste is recovered, how it is stored, and how the corresponding supporting institutions and facilities are handled It is not perfect. Therefore, the implementation of the "Prevention and Control Law" will be difficult for a long time to come.

(4) National environmental protection agencies are mainly composed of environmental protection departments at all levels and urban environmental health systems.

Environmental protection “standing in the wall” is mainly responsible for the production enterprises, that is, the comprehensive treatment of pollution sources, the development of non-polluting processes and technologies, and the “outside the wall” of environmental sanitation, which is responsible for the removal and transportation of garbage from residents' lives, shopping malls, and hospitals. Therefore, there is no organic connection and coordination between environmental protection and sanitation departments. The research results of the environmental sanitation department in recent years have shown that the sanitation system puts forward many new insights into the product structure that forms waste, but due to the management scope and functions, it will ultimately have no influence on the decision-making of the enterprise production. Therefore, it is necessary to break through the ownership of the country, adjust institutional settings, and strengthen communication and cooperation among environmental monitoring, research and development, transportation, and other agencies.

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Third, strengthen the management of packaging waste in China and establish a recycling system

1, packaging waste recycling system model

Reasonable treatment of packaging waste is an important measure to reduce its environmental pollution and save resources. This makes the “package life cycle” include not only the four aspects of design, manufacture, circulation, and consumption of packaging, but also the disposal of packaging waste. The following is a schematic diagram of the production, reuse and disposal of packaging waste:

From the above, it can be seen that the rational disposal of waste should start with the following three aspects:

(1) Reasonable handling of packaging waste in packaging production and distribution: 1 When designing and manufacturing packaging, it is necessary to make packaging containers as repeatable as possible so that the packaging becomes waste and valuable, easy to recycle, and will not be generated at the processing stage. Hazardous substances; 2 To prevent the use of over-contained packaging; 3 To establish a system of provincial resources, energy-efficient packaging and production and distribution, requiring that waste generated by the enterprise be reused by enterprises after recycling, strictly Control the final discharge of waste.

(2) In the consumption of goods, the rational disposal of packaging waste: the need to enhance environmental awareness, change the concept of value, use reasonable packaging to save resources, and require consumers to actively support the reuse of packaging waste after discharge, such as Reusable packaging waste should be included in the waste recycling system and no longer be discarded as urban waste.

(3) Remediation of packaging waste after discharge: 1 It is required to establish a reasonable collection system that can be accepted by the public and meet local re-use conditions. 2 It requires effective collection and handling to maintain environmental sanitation, and strives to save the transportation process. Energy consumption; 3 recycling of reusable and reusable waste packaging, incineration and landfill packaging that cannot be reused and recycled; 4 prevention of secondary pollution as much as possible during incineration, and promotion of reuse of waste ;5 For waste that must eventually be landfilled, its quantity and volume should be minimized and rendered harmless, and the environment around the site should be protected.

Therefore, the management approach to packaging waste is to minimize waste first; followed by pre-treatment of packaging waste before discharge; and finally, after disposal of packaging waste, which can greatly reduce the environmental pollution of packaging waste. .

2. Discussion of the structure of packaging waste recycling system into its operating mechanism

The packaging industry is a cross-sector and cross-regional industry. The establishment of a recycling system for packaging waste in China should be based on laws and regulations. The packaging industry, national environmental protection agencies, and national environmental sanitation departments should coordinate with each other to regulate the behaviors of packaging producers, commodity producers, sellers, and consumers. The status, responsibilities and obligations of packaging producers, commodity producers, sellers and consumers in the system, as well as the management of packaging waste recycling and packaging waste disposal. In addition, the establishment of a packaging waste recycling system also requires resources and technical input.

The national environmental protection department specifies that the commodity producers should bear the disposal costs of packaging waste. The packaging industry authorities perform environmental assessments based on the packaging manufacturer's packaging. Commodity producers apply to the environmental protection department for “environmental signs”. The environmental protection department collects fees for the environmental evaluation results of the packaging according to the competent department of the packaging industry. That is, the commodity producers pay for the disposal costs of packaging waste by paying the “environmental packaging mark” usage fee. . The packaging that has obtained the "Environmental Mark" will be included in the unified packaging waste recycling system after disposal. In addition, the transport packaging and sales packaging that producers, sellers and consumers will use should be stored in categories for recycling by the sanitation department.

The sanitation department and the packing waste sorting and recycling department or organization shall not only provide classified garbage bins and transportation equipment, but also transport the classified packaging wastes to the recycling station for sorting and packing, and finally to the packaging waste disposal system for separate processing. The reusable reuse can be recycled to various recycling factories (such as plastic recycling factories,