Influence of International Green Packaging System on Packaging in China

After entering the WTO, green barriers - the new term in this field of foreign trade began to attract more and more people's attention. According to data provided by the UN Statistical Office, 90% of Americans, 89% of Germans, and 84% of Dutch people consider the product's environmental standards when purchasing items. It is this increase in environmental awareness and health awareness that has made green trade the development trend of foreign trade in the world today. The implementation of green trade has created a new green trade barrier while protecting the environment and improving the quality of people's lives. As the largest developing country in the world, due to the fact that China has a large gap with the developed countries in Europe and the United States in terms of the implementation of environmental standards, capital investment, environmental technology, and other aspects, the barriers to the export of green goods in China continue to increase. At present, the international green packaging system has become one of the main contents of setting up green standards in developed countries. According to related statistics, China's annual foreign exchange earnings have been reduced by about 10% due to packaging problems, a considerable part of which is caused by packaging that does not meet the green requirements. Therefore, it is imperative to vigorously promote the development of green packaging.

1 International Green Packaging System

The green packaging system is a package that requires packaging materials to conserve resources, reduce waste, be easy to recycle or reuse after use, or easy to decompose naturally, do not pollute the environment, protect environmental resources and consumers' health. That is to say, packaging products should not cause public hazards to the human body and the environment from the selection of raw materials, material processing, product manufacturing and use, waste recycling and recycling to the final processing. Developed countries have put forward the "4R1D" principle in this regard, namely: (1) Reduce (Reduce): that is, to minimize the use of packaging materials under various functional conditions such as protection, convenience, and sales of packaging. 2 Reuse: The package can be reused after it is properly processed after it has been used. 3 Recycling: Recycling is achieved through the production of recycled products, the use of thermal energy through incineration, and the improvement of soil by composting. 4 Refill: Containers such as cans and bottles can be refilled after being recycled. 5 Degradable: The packaging waste can be decomposed without generating environmental pollution, thereby achieving the purpose of improving the soil. On this basis, with the progress of science, green packaging may have more connotations. According to this institutional principle, in recent decades, developed countries have taken measures to formulate laws, regulations, and technical standards on packaging that include environmental protection measures.

1) Formulate green packaging laws and regulations and strengthen the recycling of packaging waste.

As early as July 1985, the European Community passed the "Beverage Container Packaging Act." The first article of the decree explicitly states that one of the purposes of the decree is the repeated use and recycling of beverage containers. In 1994, the European Community officially promulgated the “Guidelines for Packaging and Packaging Waste” on the basis of national laws and regulations, which require the joint implementation of the republics.

Germany's "Circular Economy Law," "Packaging Regulations," and other regulations link recovery requirements, use, and disposal with production, sales, and consumption, and resolve all links from recycling to disposal. The system is suitable for all beverages, detergents and paint containers and is consistent with the requirements of German companies and foreign companies.

2) Prohibit the use of hard-to-recycle or hard-to-decompose packaging materials and develop recyclable green packaging

While the developed countries are managing the packaging wastes, they have also done a lot of research on packaging materials. The packaging materials are developing toward energy saving, low consumption, pollution prevention, and high-functionality. The development and recycling of eco-packaging materials can be exploited. It is one of the most important topics in the world today. For example, Italy has banned the use of certain plastic grocery bags that cannot be degraded in its territory since January 1991. The German government took measures to promote the beverage industry to change PVC bottles to PET bottles, and requested that 80% of PET bottles be recycled and used. The use of polyvinyl chloride (PE) or polyester (PET) only is prohibited. Recycled packaging materials. According to the World Packaging Organization Council, the United States, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and European countries have now completely banned the use of PVC packaging materials.

3) Develop specific indicators to promote the recycling of packaging resources.

In July 1995, Germany stipulated that the legal limit for packaging recycling was 80%, and that 80% to 90% of this total amount must be recycled. At the same time, it is stipulated that transport packaging should be 100% recycled, and sales packaging should be recycled and reused by producers and sellers according to the principle of “who produces and recycles” and “who sells and recycles”.

The United Kingdom stipulates that from 2000 onwards, 60% of industrial packaging and 35% of household packaging will be recycled and reused.

France stipulates that since 2000, manufacturers have made 75% of the recycling quota.

4) Specifies the use of certain packaging materials. Importer must be finished

In order to protect domestic resources, crops, buildings, water sources and forests, and prevent damage caused by pests, bacteria, and microorganisms in the packaging, many countries have imposed restrictions on packaging and strict inspection and treatment regulations. If it is prohibited to use traditional natural packaging materials such as wood, straw, and old sacks, it is prohibited to use packaging materials containing lead, mercury, and cadmium, etc.

5) Collection of raw materials, product packaging and waste disposal fees. Taxes (fees) are levied on companies that produce packaging materials. Taxes can be exempted if they are all made from recyclable packaging materials; lower taxes are used if part of recycled materials are used; Use or recycling of materials imposes higher taxes.
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