"Soft plastic renewal" to build a "waste-free city"

China is the world's largest plastic production and consumption country, producing more than 60 million tons of waste plastics every year, of which about 30% are physically recycled; Due to the low recycling value, of the remaining 70%, 27.
6 million tons were incinerated with domestic waste and 15.
4 million tons were landfilled
.
To produce these 43 million tons of plastic that have been incinerated or landfilled, more than 76 million tons of high-quality crude oil would need to be consumed, equivalent to the annual output
of 2.
5 Daqing oil fields.

Wei Honglian, chief engineer of the Solid Waste and Chemical Management Technology Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that plastic pollution control is an important part of the construction of
a "waste-free city".
A large amount of flexible plastic packaging is landfilled or incinerated in China every year, in a sense, which is both a great waste of resources and a waste
of the carbon reduction potential of resources.

The "Soft Plastic Renewal" project, which aims to promote the establishment of a full-chain recycling system for flexible plastic packaging, was officially launched
recently.
It is predicted that by 2025, the scope will be extended to first-, second- and third-tier cities across the country, achieving an annual recycling of 50,000 tons
of plastic flexible packaging.

Li Jinghong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been paying attention to and participating in the control of
plastic pollution in China in recent years.
He admits that soft plastic recycling has always been a difficult point
.
Due to its low recycling value, high possibility of contamination during use, and low consumer awareness of flexible plastic recycling, the recycling rate of flexible plastics is much lower than average
.

In view of the pain points and difficulties of flexible plastic packaging recycling, the "soft plastic renewal" project will establish a full-chain cycle system from design, production, consumption, recycling, recycling to high-value application of plastic flexible packaging for consumer goods by gathering the strength of all links of the industrial chain and guided by the design standards for easy recycling and easy recycling of plastic products, so as to break the barriers of industrial chain cooperation and realize the closed-loop high-value utilization
of plastic flexible packaging.

The prevention and control of plastic pollution requires the joint attention
of consumers and industry practitioners.
Achieve the recycling and reuse of plastic flexible packaging, promote the correct classification, recycling, release and reuse of single-material plastic flexible packaging in daily life, and explore market-oriented sustainable recycling and recycling models, so as to help the green circular economy
.

"I'm the resource, 'bag' I'm home"
.
Recently, Hangzhou Wuhuan Technology, AiClassification and Aihuishou and Tian Qiang Environmental Protection have carried out offline activities
in Tonglu, Zhejiang and Shanghai Yangpu and Fengxian respectively.
At the event site, the staff introduced the scientific knowledge of soft plastic recycling to local residents, and distributed special recycling bags
for plastic flexible packaging.
It is reported that the campaign will distribute 300,000 special recycling bags
for free in the first phase.

"I didn't know that snack packaging bags, courier bags and other items could be recycled, but in the future, I will not only collect and sort them, but also pass on this concept to more people
.
" Local residents said
.

Fu Xiangsheng, vice president of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, put forward three suggestions
for the "soft plastic renewal" project.
First, a single material can only be recycled to achieve value
.
The strong global growth of single-material plastics also validates its advantages, and consumers, brands, chemical companies, and recycling and recycling companies are indispensable
to achieve this goal.
Second, chemical cycles should also be within
the future treatment path.
Chemical cycles are technically not problematic, and the biggest obstacle comes from the issue of
economic competitiveness.
It is believed that in the next 3-5 years, through the improvement of technical paths, the promotion and support of policies, social consensus and global actions, the recycling of plastic soft packaging will inevitably be breakthrough and further solved
.
The third is to expect the "soft plastic renewal" project to be summarized and improved in a timely manner, and strengthen exchanges with all parties, to strengthen the collection and recycling of waste plastic soft packaging, to provide policy suggestions for the comprehensive management of plastic waste in China, to improve the plastic waste recycling value chain, and to promote the low-carbon sustainable development of
the whole industry.

"As a landing project of the 'easy to recycle and easy to recycle' design system, we hope to accumulate experience through the project, carry out similar activities in more plastic products, revitalize the potential of waste plastic recycling, coordinate communication and cooperation with more stakeholders, strive for policy support, further promote the construction of a circular system of the whole plastic industry chain that can be operated commercially, and explore a new model
for the development of plastic circular economy in China and even the world.
" Xu Junxiang, president of the China Material Recycling Association, said
.

Wei Honglian affirmed
the implementation of the "soft plastic rebirth" project.
"Based on single-material plastic flexible packaging, the project selects pilot cities to promote the construction of recycling systems, explores and optimizes the whole industry link, and carries out experience exchange and publicity and education
.
" The project is very forward-looking, grasps the pain points and difficulties of the current plastic pollution prevention and control, and is very suitable for the current plastic pollution prevention and control and the construction of waste plastic recycling system
.
During the implementation of the project, the Fixed Management Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will also give active attention and strong support
.
Wei Honglian said
.

"In addition to driving the construction of recycling infrastructure and industrial development, the 'soft plastic renewal' project can directly affect consumers
.
" Li Jinghong hopes that the project can be successfully implemented and implemented, expand new models and fields for sustainable plastic recycling in China, and fully summarize the experience so that it can be promoted
nationwide.

China Food News(Version 07, January 11, 2023)

(Responsible editor: Yuan Guofeng)