Advanced plastic packaging recycling regulations

In the past decade, developed countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan have successively formulated relevant environmental protection laws and regulations, and implemented partial bans, restrictions, mandatory collections or collection of pollution fees on plastic materials and products that are not easily recycled or hardly degraded in the natural environment. And other measures. Due to the large amount of plastic used in the packaging field, many of the regulations for plastic packaging recycling are attached to the disposal of packaging waste.

Germany

Germany's regulations on the recycling of plastic packaging waste are the most complete in the world, and its management attitude is very clear: First, "to avoid production", then "recycling" and "final disposal".

In June 1990, the German government promulgated the first packaging waste disposal regulations - the "Regulations for Packaging Waste Disposal." It stipulates that the unavoidable disposable plastic packaging waste must be reused or recycled, and each enterprise is obliged to bear the responsibility for recovery, but it can also entrust the recycling company to complete the replacement. The Dual System Deutschland (DSD), also known as Green Point, is a company that specializes in waste recycling. The company also set up a DKR joint-stock company to recover waste plastic packaging. In 1991, Germany issued the “Regulations on Packaging”, which stipulated that 60% of recycled plastics must be mechanically recycled, and the other 40% can be recycled mechanically, or it can be landfill or energy recovery. This recycling target must be based on nation-wide statistics. After the verified data report is submitted to the national environmental department, the industrial and commercial enterprises that have fulfilled their recovery obligations can be exempt from part of the tax. In 2001, the recycling rate of plastic packaging reached 87%, and a large amount of plastic was used to manufacture recycled products such as barrels, windows, cables, and automobile frame supports.

In the “Regulations on Packaging”, a strict classification of domestic waste has been introduced, which requires consumers to put plastic bags or plastic packaging materials into yellow bins for recycling. But at present, the regulations for plastic waste have changed. In December 2002, the German Supreme Court issued the latest decree: all stores are required to begin collecting packaging deposits for canned and bottled drinks from customers in January 2003. PET plastic bottles used for beer and beverages, which cost less than 0.25 euros for foods up to 1.5 liters, and double deposits for more than 1.5 liters. The store returns the deposit to the customer when the customer returns the package. However, the packaging of wine, liquor, milk, fruit juices and other commodities is not included in the list.

According to a survey by DKR Recycling, 89% of German consumers agree that plastics are widely remanufactured; about 40% of Germans refuse to use packages that have no value. It can thus be seen that the country’s outstanding achievements in waste recovery have benefited from the environmental awareness of the general public.

The relevant regulations and practical operations formulated by the European Union are basically borrowed from Germany. EU countries have also formulated specific targets for plastic packaging recycling. However, the recycling rate of plastic packaging has only reached 4 countries, of which Germany, Austria and Belgium are at the forefront.

Japan

Japan is the most comprehensive country in circular economy legislation, and its goal is to establish a "circular society" of resources. This is closely related to the shortage of domestic energy. In light of this, Japan has always maintained a positive attitude towards the recycling of waste plastics.

In 1997, Japan's "Container Packaging Recycling Law" was introduced. This regulation imposes strict regulations on the recycling of plastic packaging: PET bottle manufacturers and beverage manufacturers using PET bottles must bear the corresponding recovery costs; consumers must also classify wastes and recycle them on time. Was fined or even sentenced. The regulations have even made detailed provisions on the body, caps, trademarks, colors, etc. of PET bottles. Manufacturers must produce them as required in order to facilitate recycling. The collected plastic bottles are crushed in the factory and crushed into textile products, clothes hangers, and garbage cans.

In 2001, the "Plastic Bottle Recycling Promotion Association", formed by Japanese beverage manufacturers and plastic bottle manufacturers, decided that the production of colored plastic bottles would be stopped. Because in recycling, the mixing of colored plastic bottles not only reduces the quality of recycled products, but also increases the difficulty of manual processing. Now all transparent bottles covered with labels can solve the problem of ultraviolet radiation. In Japan, the recycling of containers is coordinated by five government departments - the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Finance, and the Environment Department, to provide a certain amount of subsidies for recycling containers. In Japan, more than 3,200 containers, including wells and towns, were recovered by the Container Packaging and Recycling Association of Japan. By 2001, 51 PET recycling companies had been recognized by the association. The cost of plastic bottle recycling is borne by the three parties: local administration is responsible for 1% of the cost, and the remaining 99% is borne by beverage manufacturers and bottle manufacturers, with 80% and 20% respectively.

In addition, Japan decided to vigorously support the industrial waste-based power generation business, which is mainly based on waste plastics. It is planned that by 2010, a total of 150 waste plastic power generation facilities will be built in Japan, making industrial waste power generation an important part of new energy.

United States

The United States is a world leader in the production of plastics. As early as the 1960s, extensive research on the recycling of waste plastics has been carried out. From the local departments, counties, and states, regulations have been established for the restrictions on the use and disposal of plastic products.

In Florida in 1988, it was stipulated that hard-pack containers within a certain specification range would have to pay ADF, ie advance waste plastic processing fees. The manufacturers who changed the container to use 20% of waste plastic in 1993 or 25% of plastic containers in the state can avoid ADF.

New York State banned the use of non-biodegradable vegetable bags in 1989, subsidized manufacturers of degradable plastics, and asked the public to separate renewable and non-renewable waste, or a fine of $ 500.

California's decree in 1991 required that the recycling rate of waste plastics reach 25% by 1995, or that all containers contain 25% of waste plastics, reduce 10% of raw materials, and reuse 5 times; in 1995, 30% of waste bags were required. Recycle plastic.

In 1988, the federal government took the lead in restricting the use and decrement of certain plastic products. Later, it also cancelled some bans. Instead, it formulated the “Resource Protection and Recycling Measures” to regulate the disposal of solid waste, and specified the recycling rate of plastic products. It is 65%, and 65% of the recycled materials must be recycled to 45%.

Many national organizations are promoting the recycling of waste plastics. Such as: American Plastic Industry Association (SPI), Plastic Recycling Foundation (PRE), Plastic Recycling Research Center (CPRR), Vinyl Research Institute (SPI a branch) and so on. For ease of classification, SPI has developed plastic material symbols, which are required to be marked on the bottom of the container. There are currently 39 states that are implementing the regulation. In addition, some large plastics production companies in the United States are also involved in the recycling of waste plastics. For example, eight largest PS manufacturers, such as Amoco, Mobile, Pollisa, Herzmann, Alco, Chevron, and Dafena, set up PS recycling. The center, with a total investment of US$16 million, recycles foamed PS, and recycled plastics are used to make cassettes, offices and home appliances.