Some Thoughts on China's Green Packaging (2)

(III) Working hard to grow and develop green packaging materials

1, first of all to rapidly increase the paper packaging, improve the quality and grade of paper packaging materials. The key is to increase the proportion of wood pulp. To this end, it is necessary to implement the integrated development of forests, pulp, and paper as soon as possible, and vigorously develop artificial fast-growing paper-making forests; at the same time, vigorously recycle waste paper pulp and import foreign waste paper pulp.
2. Actively promote the development of metal packaging and improve the high-grade and lightweight development of glass packaging.
3, the development of balanced plastic packaging, implementation of development and environmental protection in parallel, where alternative incentives to encourage alternatives, such as pulp molding, honeycomb paperboard instead of foamed plastic cushion liner, with good environmental performance biaxially oriented polystyrene film Material BOPS replaces polyvinyl chloride film PVS; for disposable plastic packaging that is difficult to recycle or economically uneconomical, degradable plastic should be used.
4. Develop natural plant fiber materials, vigorously develop China's abundant reserves of bamboo packaging; encourage the development of reed, bamboo and sugar residue pulping and papermaking, and strive to improve the pulp molding quality and other product quality using plant fibers as raw materials, such as corn The rods produce biodegradable plastic film for raw materials and use starch and plant fibers as raw materials to produce expanded "foam" materials.

(D) Establish an effective recycling system for packaging waste

Packaging waste is not "waste" but the "secondary resource" to be developed. The recycling and comprehensive utilization of packaging waste is not only a saving of resources, but also an effective protection of the environment. At the same time, it is also a great cause for future generations to benefit our children and grandchildren. For enterprises, the recycling and recycling of packaging waste can not only create considerable economic benefits, but also produce good environmental benefits. Taking the recycling of two aluminum cans as an example, remelting one ton of aluminum saves 95% of energy compared to producing aluminum from bauxite. Recovering 1 ton of aluminum can save 4 tons of aluminum ore, 400 kg of oil and coke, and release it to the atmosphere. The amount of fluoride in the product was reduced by 35 kg. 7

The economically developed countries are vigorously developing the waste recycling industry. In 1990, the global waste recycling industry market scale was approximately US$10 billion, and by the year 2000 it had grown to US$300 billion. In the United States alone, waste paper recycling generates an annual revenue of US$20 billion. Through the implementation of the “green” packaging system, Germany recovered 1 million tons of packaging waste in the first year, and then the recycling rate increased year by year, eventually reaching 13 million tons of packaging waste every year. As a result, Germany's waste has been reduced by 10%, while waste utilization has increased from 20% to 25%. There are approximately 1,500 packaging companies in France with a total of 120,000 employees. The current annual turnover is 120 billion francs, and 12 million tons of packaging products are produced. The value of each package is 10 francs. Its total turnover exceeds the total business volume of the French aerospace industry. 8

To do a good job in the recycling and recycling of packaging waste, it is possible to establish a “green box,” an “ecological box,” and an “eco-bag” by establishing corresponding recycling agencies, establishing legislation, using taxation fees, fines, and deposits as economic levers. Determine the specific recovery indicators and the implementation of paid recovery, classification and other methods to maximize the ability to achieve a full range of packaging resources for recycling purposes. In terms of policies, the environmental protection enterprises should be given a proper tilt, especially in tax credits, etc. This category of enterprises should be given certain concessions to promote the rapid development of green products. At the same time, we must also carry out some related legislative work and legal methods to standardize the behavior of packaging manufacturers and packaging workers. It is also necessary to limit and eliminate various packaging materials and products that are difficult to degrade and that are prone to produce pollution that are not easy to recycle, so that green packaging can gradually be incorporated into the legalized and standardized track, enabling it to develop steadily and healthily.

Many companies have achieved remarkable economic benefits by classifying and recycling waste. For example, Xiamen Panasonic Audio Co., Ltd. uses 160 tons of reusable packaging cartons per month; Beijing Matsushita CPT adopts various measures to reduce the amount of waste per million yuan by 37%.

Therefore, when human beings face the three crisis challenges of resources, energy, and the environment, recycling will undoubtedly have significant economic, environmental and social benefits. It should be the main direction of packaging waste disposal.

(E) Encourage and support enterprises to carry out ISO14000 certification and environmental label certification work, break through the green barriers

How should Chinese packaging companies participate in the implementation of environmental standards in order to make traditional packaging green and produce green packaging? The solution is to work hard to improve the quality of export products, increase the technical standards, hygiene standards and environmental standards for export products, actively adapt to WTO rules after WTO accession, and strive to break through the non-tariff barriers to international trade within a short period of time.

According to the ISO14000 series of standards, the packaging industry must achieve the following “green packaging”:

1. Establish "environmental management system"
The establishment of an "Environmental Management System" (EMS) is the first step for packaging companies and companies to go green, just as ISO9000 requires the establishment of a "quality system." Its task is to formulate and implement environmental guidelines, plan environmental activities, implement environmental management supervision and inspection, and so on. The core elements of the management system include the company's environmental policy, environmental planning, implementation and operation, inspection and correction, and management review. The management system will ensure that the company achieves the goal of "green packaging." The environmental policy, goals and activities planned by the company should be appropriate to its own attributes, scale, production (activity), product and service impacts on the environment; and there are commitments to save resources, prevent pollution, and comply with relevant laws and regulations.

2, through the "environmental certification"
According to ISO14000 requirements, green packaging companies must pass “environmental certification” (EA) to ensure that the company meets the requirements of the ISO 14010-14019 standard. Quality certification focuses on the product's own quality, while environmental certification focuses on the product's "environmental quality." For packaging companies, it is not enough to simply “save resources, reduce pollution, and recycle and reuse”. Enterprises must have EMS systems and pass certification from national authorities. Some smart companies in China have passed environmental certification.

3, the product should have "environmental signs"
The environmental label (EL) is commonly referred to as the "green sign". In the future, the three types of environmental labels introduced by ISO are Type I, Type II, and Type III. The type I sign specified by ISO14000 is called "ecological sign" and it is determined according to the ecological situation of each country. Therefore, there will be a big difference between developed countries and underdeveloped countries. The type I logo is a “self-declaration” type “information logo” of an enterprise. The company publicizes its environmental policy, environmental data, and information to the public and accepts social supervision. The type III mark is the environmental "quality mark" of the product, and is marked with specific digital pointers and line segments. It is more intuitive and convenient. National government agencies will recommend products or packages with "environmental signs" to users or consumers.

4. Conducting an “environmental behavior assessment” Packaging companies must evaluate their own environmental behaviors and environmental impacts by relevant departments, and call them “environmental behavior” evaluations (EPE). The results are expressed in the “EPIS”. . The evaluation results will help packaging companies choose to save resources, prevent pollution, use new technologies and new management systems, and take a new step.

5. Perform "life cycle" evaluation The so-called LIFE CYCLE means "product (packaging) from material mining - manufacturing - circulation - recycling - waste disposal "" back from the earth The whole process of going to the earth is also translated as an "ecological circle." To manufacture any kind of product, you must first “put in” materials, energy, labor, etc., and then “output” the product. This industry "product" necessarily includes the required products and waste, excrement, etc.

Therefore, ISO 14000 requires packaging companies to carry out the above-mentioned “full-process” life cycle assessment (LCA) for packaging in order to carry out “whole process” control and adopt “zero pollution” or “clean processes” to produce “green products”. Meet the "green packaging" standard.

The practice of environmental management system certification shows that implementing an environmental management system can achieve significant results in terms of saving energy consumption. For example, in the implementation of the system, Dalian Hualu Panasonic Company continuously improved the air compressor and central air-conditioning operation program, and improved the lighting system, reducing the energy value per million yuan from 347.8 yuan in 1997 to 292.4 yuan in 1998. In 1999, it further reduced to 175.1 yuan, a total reduction of nearly 50% in three years.

Enterprises that have passed the environmental management system certification can not only gain government approval, but also gain the trust of consumers. Therefore, it has actually become a “green pass” for companies to enter the international market and break through the green barriers. Experts predict that with the improvement of people’s living conditions, the improvement of living quality, and the growing awareness of environmental protection, green consumption will become the mainstream of consumption in the 21st century, and the market in the 21st century will be the “green product” market.

In short, the development prospect of China's packaging industry is bright, especially in recent years, due to the rapid development of China's economy, the variety of social goods is extremely rich, and some packaging technologies in China have also developed rapidly. However, with the progress of economic globalization, China's packaging industry is facing great challenges and opportunities. This requires China's packaging industry to fine tune its new development ideas, establish new development goals, and formulate their own new developments. Measures. Arm yourself with green theory, green standards and green manufacturing as soon as possible to produce green packaging products. Only in this way can we be invincible in the fierce competition in the world market!

Source:Nettext Economy Online Author/Fu Chunheng Fu Zhuping