Green Packaging - The Future of Packaging Industry (I)

The origin and definition of green packaging

As early as the 1970s, Germany took the lead in launching the "green packaging" with the "green dot" (green pattern of product packaging) logo. In the following decades, green packaging quickly developed around the world. In 1987, the United Nations Environment and Development Commission issued “Our Common Future”. In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development adopted the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Agenda 21 and other documents. The International Organization for Standardization subsequently formulated ISO/CDL4000. The environmental management standard system has promoted the development of green packaging around the world.

The so-called "green packaging" refers to packaging that does not cause pollution to the ecological environment, does not cause any harm to human health, can be recycled and recycled, and can promote sustainable development. In other words, the whole process of packaging products selection from raw materials, product manufacturing, use, recycling and disposal should meet the requirements of ecological and environmental protection. It includes resources saving, energy, avoiding waste generation, easy recycling, recycling, incineration or degradability, etc. It is in line with “3R1D” (Reduce reduction, Reuse reuse, Recycle recycling And Degradable degradable) principle.

Green Packaging Labels and Regulations

In 1975, the world's first green packaging "green" logo (a circular pattern consisting of green arrows and white arrows) - "Green Point" was introduced in Germany. The “green dots” double-colored arrows indicate that the product or packaging is green and can be recycled and used, meeting the requirements of ecological balance and environmental protection. In 1977, the German government launched the “Blue Sky” green environmental protection label, which was granted to those products (including packaging) that have green characteristics. Since then, many countries have also begun to use the environmental labeling of product packaging. Such as Canada's "Maple Leaf Logo", Japan's "Love the Earth", the United States' "Natural Friendly", the European Community's "European Flower", Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and other Nordic countries "White Swan", Singapore The "green logo". New Zealand's "environmental choice", Portugal's "ecological products" and so on. All products marked with the "Green Mark" indicate that the product meets the requirements of environmental protection from production to use until the final consumption recovery. In developed countries, it is generally stipulated that a commodity can enter the country’s market only after it has obtained the “green logo” of the country, or it is prohibited from entering the country.

In 1981, the Danish government first introduced the "Container Container Recycling Act" in view of the adverse effects of the increase in empty containers for beverage containers. Since the implementation of this law affected the free movement of goods within the European Community and the interests of various member states, a lawsuit was filed against the "Danish bottle." In 1988, the European court ruled that Denmark won. In order to mitigate disputes, the European Community held a meeting in Dublin in June 1990 to put forward the idea of ​​“fully protecting the environment” and formulated the Waste Transport Law, which stipulates that packaging waste cannot be shipped to other countries, and countries should take responsibility for waste.

Germany responded positively to the call of the European Community and passed the German Packaging Act in 991. Subsequently, it promulgated the "Circular Economy and Waste Management Law." It provides that producers and distributors of goods recycle garbage, requiring containers and packaging. The green label shall be attached to the object, and the usage fee of the green label shall be determined by the degree of difficulty in recycling and utilization of the packaged waste.

Austria introduced the "Packaging Regulations" in 992, and later released the "Policy Objectives Regulations" to supplement them. Manufacturers and sellers are required to receive and collect transportation packages, used packaging and sales packaging for free, and require 80% recovery. The packaging resources are recycled and recycled.

In 1993, France formulated the "Regulations on Packaging", which required that the amount of household waste treated by landfill be reduced. In 1994, the “Transport Packaging Regulations” were enacted, which clearly stipulated that except for household packaging, the final users of all packagings should separate the products from the packaging and should be recycled by the company and retailers.

Belgium passed the “National Ecological Law” in 1993 and also established an ecological tax, which stipulates that paper packaging and reusable packaging can be tax-free, and that other materials are subject to taxation.

In order to promote the development of green packaging, the British government has not only enacted the "Regulations on Packaging Wastes," but also has formed a "producer responsibility industrial group" of 28 companies in the packaging and food industries to promote the collection and reuse of packaging waste throughout the country. Processing system.

As a powerful economic power in the world, the United States has early noticed the dangers of packaging waste. The states have formulated relevant policies and regulations. In 1993, the California government made a special “Branches for Ransom on Beverage Containers”, which stipulated that all hard plastic containers should be recycled and reused must meet the requirements for reduction of 1 O% of raw materials used in 1991, or must contain 25% of recyclables. . The state government of Florida actively promotes the Waste Disposal Prepayment Act (AFD), which deals with the cost of packaging waste to consumers of free choice of products in order to encourage packaging container manufacturers to recycle and support the implementation of the law. The AFD law provides that tax revenues can be applied for as long as a certain level of recycling is achieved. For example, according to various data released by the US Environmental Protection Agency (DEP), containers with a recovery rate of more than 50% can be exempted from pre-payment to encourage All producers guarantee that at least half of their products can be recycled.

Application Status of Green Packaging in China

As the export commodities must adopt green packaging and the rise of domestic environmental protection undertakings and government support, China's green packaging industry is developing rapidly. The use of environmentally-friendly packaging materials is increasing, market share is gradually increasing, technology content is also increasing, some products have reached the international advanced level, have a better market in the international market, the market of the green packaging industry is constantly expand. However, compared with developed countries, China's green packaging industry still lags far behind, and development is not fast enough. Specifically in the following aspects.

1. Green packaging concept blurred

In many people's minds, green packaging is often regarded as greening of packaging products. It is erroneously regarded packaging products made of easily degradable materials as green packaging, regardless of whether the production of packaging products causes environmental pollution and waste of resources. It does not matter whether the packaged product can be reused after use. If the paper packaging is regarded as a green packaging, the plastic packaging is placed on the opposite side of the green packaging, and even the polyethylene is considered to be toxic, and paper-based plastic molding should be fully implemented. In fact, the impact of packaging on the environment should be considered from the entire life cycle of the product. For example, improper recycling of paper packaging does not meet the requirements of green packaging. Plastic packaging should be promoted if it is reduced, recycled, and harmless. Plastics have the advantage that other packaging materials cannot be replaced, and a total ban on plastics will cause greater pollution. China's forest resources are limited, and the pollution caused by papermaking is also difficult to control. Therefore, it is neither realistic nor environmentally friendly to fully implement paper-based modeling.

2. unbalanced development

First, the time for different companies to implement green packaging is not synchronized. The earliest implementation of green packaging was export-oriented enterprises. Such enterprises were affected by the international market and learned about green packaging earlier. They quickly adjusted their packaging strategy; while those with a domestic market focused on green packaging. The response was slow, and it only started to get involved in green packaging in recent years. Secondly, the development between regions is uneven, and the green packaging in the economically developed regions has developed rapidly. The green packaging in the central and western regions where the economy is relatively backward has not received sufficient attention and publicity. The development is slow. In the treatment of packaging waste, local policies and laws are also inconsistent, resulting in the transfer of packaging pollution to economically underdeveloped areas.