Strengthening the recycling and reuse of packaging waste is an important task for China's environmental protection work

Recently, many domestic media have questioned some of the excessive packaging in China's commodity packaging, calling on consumers to boycott products that are extremely harmful to sustainable development to “over-provision” packaging, promote green consumption, and promote green packaging. This is undoubtedly the environmental protection of people. A good phenomenon that is becoming more and more important.

However, this is only one aspect of the problem. We must also attach great importance to the recycling and reuse of packaging waste. We must stipulate laws and regulations and give policy support.

The promotion of packaging products to protect goods plays a crucial role, but it is also a heavy burden on the country. For example, the packaging of goods requires a lot of energy and materials, and waste packaging materials cause serious pollution to the environment. Therefore, " The goods should be properly packaged but not over-packed, "adopt more reusable and degradable packaging materials", "enhance the recycling and reuse of packaging wastes", and be the three dialectical components of commodity packaging. ,Indispensable. Since the 1970s, the recycling and reuse of packaging waste has become a topic for governments and the sustainable development strategy research center of the packaging industry.

According to relevant data analysis: recycling aluminum cans and other aluminum materials, can save 95% of the energy used in aluminum; recycling of steel and glass waste, can save about 85 ~ 90% of the energy required to produce this kind of material. At present, many governments are guiding enterprises to strengthen relevant work in the form of policies, regulations, etc., and have achieved significant social and economic benefits. For example, the tinplate recovery rate in Germany reaches 50%, the corrugated paperboard (box) recovery rate reaches 55%, and the waste paper recovery rate reaches 15%. In the United States, the waste recycling rate reached 48% in 2000 (of which waste corrugated box recycling rate reached 75% in 2000). In the United States in the past 10 years, it has created a fortune of 4 billion US dollars through the recycling of packaging waste.

In comparison, at present, China still pays insufficient attention to the recycling and reuse of the packaging waste of goods. The recovery technology is backward, the system is not perfect, and the recycling rate is low.

According to the relevant information, the recycling rate of waste paper in China is only about 36%. The packaging for medicine delivery, canning, and cosmetics is almost completely abandoned, and the plastic recycling rate is only 30%. The relevant departments have repeatedly urged the recycling of packaging materials. Use, but with little success, on the one hand caused a huge waste of resources in our country, on the other hand caused serious pollution to the production environment (such as "white pollution" which has caused serious concern in recent years is one example). The further improvement of people’s quality of life is contrary to the requirements of China’s economic sustainable development.

Strengthening the research on the recycling and utilization of packaging waste is undoubtedly an important issue that China's packaging industry cannot afford to shirk. However, it is not just a responsibility that can be borne by the packaging industry. It must rely on the joint efforts of the entire society and must rely on the government's overall planning. arrangement. At the same time, it must be a kind of commercial activity, so that the operators are profitable, so as to form a dynamic system to make this work sustainable and stable.