Plastic flexible packaging should establish a sound and effective recycling system as soon as possible

On the one hand, there is a large amount of incineration of soft packaging to pollute the environment. On the other side, it is difficult for environmental protection companies to continue due to lack of raw materials. How did this contradiction arise?

It is understood that although many cities have started to implement waste classification many years ago, the waste classification work has largely been done by the people.

With the changes in people’s lifestyle and the increasing demand for milk, fruit juice and other beverages, soft-packed beverages have already entered the daily lives of the people. The dramatic increase in the production and use of flexible packaging has not allowed the environmental protection companies that recycle flexible packaging to take a smooth path. On the contrary, at the moment, they are in a difficult position because of the shortage of raw materials.

Last year, an environmental protection center in Beijing invested in an environmental protection company that relies on recycled flexible packaging as raw material. The patented technology introduced by this center can extract raw materials such as plastics, paper and aluminum from flexible packaging. Less than three months after the opening of the business, the company’s orders continued, and companies could soon face a production stoppage because of the failure to receive raw materials.

According to industry insiders, there are dozens of flexible packaging and recycling companies in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other cities in China, and all these companies are in a state of “fat food”.

In the past, due to the limitations of the recycling and processing technologies, soft packaging was mostly mixed in “non-recyclable” garbage, sent to waste disposal plants, or sent to landfills for landfill. However, because these flexible packagings contain a large amount of metals, plastics and other non-degradable materials, it not only increases the difficulty of incineration, but also causes pollution to the atmosphere, soil and groundwater.

Today, the new recycling technology has been able to effectively separate the various materials of composite paper packaging, thereby producing pulp and plastic particles, turning waste into treasure. In a 500 ml milk carton, 20 soft packs can be used as a small pen holder; 200 can only be made as a small stool; 2000 can be used as a small table; 30 can be made into 5 rolls of 70 meters long toilet paper.

However, the status quo is not optimistic. Relevant information shows that of the more than 700 million milk cartons produced in Shanghai each year, more than 600 million are mixed in domestic garbage and discarded, and the recycling rate is less than 5%. Only one Tetra Pak package generates more than 2 million pieces a day, while environmental protection companies recycle from domestic garbage, which is less than 1/50 of the total.

According to reports, Shanghai is still a relatively developed city with flexible packaging recycling. The recycling of soft packaging in cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou is not optimistic. According to statistics, there are currently more than 4 million Tetra Pak used in Beijing every day, weighing over 40 tons. Each year, Guangzhou produces about 6,000 tons of soft-packed beverage boxes, and the recycling rate is less than 5%.

According to authoritative data, at present, each city family will consume about 100 flexible packages a month, which is nearly 1200 a year. The country consumes about 20 billion flexible packagings a year. Incineration of these flexible packagings will generate large amounts of carbon dioxide and harmful gases, polluting the environment. If we can only recover 10 billion calculations, we will be able to recycle 75,000 tons of paper, 20,000 tons of plastic and 5,000 tons of aluminum each year, with a total value of more than 600 million yuan. These materials can be reused to save resources while avoiding the environmental pollution caused by these flexible packaging.

On the one hand, there is a large amount of incineration of soft packaging to pollute the environment. On the other side, it is difficult for environmental protection companies to continue due to lack of raw materials. How did this contradiction arise?
It is understood that although many cities have started to implement waste classification many years ago, the waste classification work has largely been done by the people. Before entering landfills, household waste has been classified several times by households, society and sanitation. In society, the collection of used newspapers and plastic bottles and cans is relatively easy. Driven by economic interests, even if there is no ideological realm of environmental protection and resource reuse, many people are also accumulating and recycling, and some of them even make a living. However, the recovery of flexible packaging is a blind spot in waste sorting and recycling.

In an interview, the reporter learned that most citizens do not know that flexible packaging can be recycled, and that collecting soft packaging at home is not as convenient as a newspaper. It requires cleaning, drying, and flattening, which is troublesome. If it is not cleaned, it will produce odor and cause secondary pollution. Some people go to work or go to school to drink and throw, not to bring home. Its market price is also low and unattractive. Generally, hawkers are unwilling to accept income. Even if they are collected, they are often stuffed into used newspapers and filled with weight to sell “high prices”. Finally they arrive at paper mills. It takes human resources to pick it out and it becomes rubbish.

Although flexible packaging recycling companies are in a difficult position, people still see that many environmental protection companies, such as golden woodpeckers, Fengqi trade, and oasis, have shouldered their social responsibilities and made unremitting efforts. They are looking for a better way out for flexible packaging, with the help of schools, neighborhood communities, waste recycling systems, sanitation systems, and environmental protection volunteers to jointly recover, make full use of flexible packaging, and strive to reverse business difficulties.

Experts believe that the recovery and reuse of flexible packaging is a systematic project that requires the concerted efforts of all sectors of society and should establish a sound and effective recycling system as soon as possible.