The plastics industry is facing major vents and the ban on plastics stirs up Jiangcheng's biodegradable products industry

Since this year (2021), with the implementation of the most stringent "plastic ban" in history, market demand for biodegradable plastic products, especially shopping bags, has surged

In the past few days, Jimu News reporters visited several degradable plastic products companies in Wuhan and found that most companies are producing biodegradable plastic bag products at full power.

Supermarket biodegradable bags are in short supply

"If you have one dollar each, then I don't need the bag, just put it in my bag

On the morning of the 24th, in a chain supermarket on Lanjiang Road, Hanyang District, I heard that a medium-sized biodegradable plastic bag cost 1 yuan apiece

The cashier told JiMu News that the replacement of biodegradable plastic bags in the supermarket resulted in a corresponding increase in prices.

In a supermarket on Zhongshan Avenue in Qiaokou District, a salesperson said that since the beginning of this year, the amount of shopping bags in the store has been reduced by 10 to 20%.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, when the reporter was buying fast food at a chain convenience store and was preparing to pack it, he was told by the clerk that there were no plastic bags in the store

The reporter visited and found that the current supply of shopping bags in large supermarket chains is still sufficient, but some small and medium supermarkets and convenience stores have a gap in biodegradable plastic bags

Manufacturers lay out 7 months in advance

On the morning of the 22nd, on the production line of Wuhan Zhongbai Xinchen Environmental Packaging Technology Co.

“As a participant in the drafting of the draft of the Wuhan plastic ban, we started the research and development of new products very early

In response to the upcoming ban on plastics, in May last year, the company organized technical personnel to set up a research and development center to upgrade the technical process improvement previously confined in the workshop to the company level to develop biodegradable products

In mid-December last year, Zhongbai Xinchen's orders for biodegradable shopping bags began to soar

In order to cope with explosive demand, the company's newly ordered two sets of equipment are still on the way.

Turn around and stare at exports and become domestic suppliers

"These are two new fully automatic production lines that we have specially introduced

Before the plastic ban, Wuhan Huali Environmental Protection Company was rarely known in China or even in the province.

The general manager of the company Zhang Libin introduced to the Jimu News reporter that since 2000, Hualien Environmental Protection started the development and production of biodegradable raw materials

In the second half of last year, a ban on plastics was implemented nationwide, and consultation calls from other provinces of Huaihua Environmental Protection came one after another
.
"Some big express companies and stores all pull us to bid, order raw materials and finished products
.
" Zhang Libin said that the company's original order-based production and step-by-step methods have been completely changed
.
In order to meet the needs of the finished product market, the company decisively eliminated old equipment and introduced two fully automatic production lines to produce biodegradable shopping bags and express bags to cope with the domestic market
.

As of December last year, Huali Environmental Protection had added 6 new customers in Wuhan alone, providing them with biodegradable raw materials
.

Analyze why the current bag price is high

The raw material cost of degradable plastic bags is more than twice that of conventional plastic bags, and the production process also increases the cost to a certain extent
.

In an interview with reporters, the technical experts of Zhongbai Xinchen introduced that the degradable raw materials used by many companies are "PBAT (a thermoplastic biodegradable plastic) + PLA (polylactic acid) + starch and other auxiliary materials", "a variety of materials are needed.
Combine them together, otherwise not only the appearance will not be good, but the toughness and tensile strength of the finished product will be affected
.
"

In terms of raw materials, the domestic supply of PBAT and PLA is insufficient, resulting in high prices.
Suppliers in Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Xinjiang and other places have been increasing prices since the second half of last year
.
Some upstream companies are also increasing production lines and capacity
.

During an on-site interview, the reporter found that the speed of the degradable production line is obviously slower than that of ordinary plastic bags
.
The staff explained that because the properties of biodegradable materials are different from ordinary plastics, their properties are softer, the bag making speed is too fast, and the sealing is not strong.
“The production efficiency is only one-third of that of conventional plastic bags
.
”

In addition, in terms of the production process, due to the characteristics of degradable plastic bags that are degradable by ultraviolet rays, after the raw materials are blown film (the semi-finished plastic bag that has become a roll but not sealed and cut), if it is not made into a finished product within a certain period of time Plastic bags will make it impossible to seal
.
Therefore, shading treatment is also required in this process
.
Therefore, degradable plastic bags are more "squeaky" than conventional plastic bags
.

These are the reasons for the high price of degradable plastic bags
.

It can be expected that the plastics industry will usher in a new trend

Data show that there are more than 80 plastic product manufacturers under the Wuhan Plastics Industry Chamber of Commerce
.

"At least 10 of these companies have already started producing biodegradable plastic products
.
" Zhang Libin, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said that before 2020, there is only Huaihua Environmental Protection in Wuhan that is engaged in the production of biodegradable plastic products and provides biodegradable raw materials
.
The strict implementation of the most strictly prohibited plastic order has forced many companies to transform into biodegradable plastic products
.

Zhang Libin introduced that in the 1980s and 1990s, the plastics processing industry in Wuhan was developed and accumulated a lot of technical strength
.
The technical backbones of the industry currently active in all parts of the country have all gone out of Wuhan
.
In the manufacture of large-scale blown film machines required to produce some types of plastic bags, whether in terms of quantity, quality, or core technology, Wuhan ranks first in the country
.

Standing at the outlet of promoting biodegradable plastic products across the country, whether it is equipment production, raw material research and development, or the whole process of finished product manufacturing, Wuhan and even Hubei related industries and enterprises have ushered in the biggest opportunity in the past 20 years
.

"The production cost is now too high, but the dosage is too low
.
" Zhang Libin said that with the further advancement of the ban on plastics in the later period, the popularization of green concepts, the increase in market usage and production capacity, the increase in technology research and development, and the eventual cost reduction
.

The Chamber of Commerce will also actively promote the ban on plastics and cooperate with relevant functional departments to supervise the implementation of the ban on plastics
.