With the rapid development of economy and the improvement of people's consumption level, commodity packaging has become an indispensable part of its production process. Commodity packaging integrates materials science, engineering technology and aesthetic design into a flourishing sunrise industry, marking the social economy. And the prosperity of trade. Modern commodity packaging has undergone multi-phase development and has entered a new phase of green packaging. Packaging materials that play an important role in packaging projects have also evolved from traditional natural plants, ceramics, etc. into four major packaging materials today, mainly paper, glass, plastics and metals. A wide range of product packaging not only gives people a pleasing visual impact, but more importantly reflects the concept of green packaging. At the same time, the recycling of packaging waste that is increasing day by day will directly affect the implementation of the “green packaging†system project.
According to the research findings of world experts and scholars [1], “green packaging†must cover two layers of meaning: 1) The entire packaging process will not cause pollution and damage to the ecological environment and human health; 2) The packaging materials used must be renewable Sustainable development material. According to the two conditions, packaging materials must be taken from nature and return to nature to form a true green cycle, enabling humans to enjoy the wonderful feeling brought about by modern and exquisite commodity packaging, while also having a good living environment and Lasting supply of resources.
Green packaging began in the last century, the proliferation of white pollution, but the governance of white pollution is not to curb the development of the packaging industry, but to promote the rational use of packaging materials, type and quantity, and the effective recycling of packaging waste.
1 Current status of packaging materials in China
The most prominent feature of green packaging materials is that the materials themselves must be harmless to the human body, have no pollution to the ecological environment, and must be easy to recycle, or they can return to nature through environmental degradation. The creation is delicate, and natural plant packaging materials exist in the natural world. However, these pure natural green packaging materials are far from meeting the needs of modern social economic development for the packaging materials of goods. Therefore, humans rely on the progress of science and technology to create a large number of artificial Synthetic green packaging material has formed the 4 pillar material paper, metal, glass and plastic in the current packaging industry [2].
1. 1 paper
Paper is derived from natural plant fibers and is easily decomposed naturally. It is a typical green packaging material. It is divided into two forms of soft wrapping paper and rigid cardboard. It has been widely used in the packaging of industrial products such as foods, fruits and vegetables, and home appliances, showing that paper has a large share of packaging materials. With the advancement of papermaking technology and printing technology, paper packaging dominates the packaging of various high-end gifts and cosmetics with its exquisite and elegant appearance. For example, the rare flowers packaged in parchment paper on the flower market are still simple and beautiful in the gorgeous. Elegant and vividly embodies the timeless appeal of paper, an ancient packaging material.
1. 2 glass
Due to the characteristics of the material structure and manufacturing technology, glass can be made into various shapes and crystal clear packaging containers, which have strong functions of beautifying goods. Due to abundant raw material resources and moderate prices, they are widely used in liquid products such as alcoholic beverages. Packaging for spices, spices, perfumes and chemical reagents.
1. 3 metal
Metals used as packaging materials are mainly copper and aluminum, and can be made into flexible metal thin-walled or metal-coated films, such as cans, cans, and tin foils for cigarettes. They can also be used to describe green packaging just from the use and recycling of packaging materials. Barrels, tanks and containers. Metal packaging has always occupied a place in packaging materials due to its long-term protection function and easy recycling, but due to its economic performance, it cannot hold a large market.
1. 4 plastic
Since the advent of plastics, due to its rich source of raw materials, its advantages of low price, light weight, high strength, good toughness, and easy forming, it has rapidly increased its proportion in packaging materials and has become an important symbol of modern commodity packaging in China. The use of plastic packaging materials accounted for 26% of the total plastic production. The finished product forms include plastic bags, fiber woven bags and rigid molding materials such as plastic buckets and bottles for the packaging of various soft drinks, foods and daily necessities. Although plastic packaging is easy and inexpensive to carry, it is generally difficult to recycle because it is a synthetic polymer material, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, etc., its waste is not easily recycled and cannot be decomposed naturally. The initial use of too much, causing a global "white pollution." Under the impact of the world's green revolution, the research and use of biodegradable new generation plastics has become an irreversible trend.
1.5 Degradable Plastics and Edible Packaging Materials
Degradable plastics are characterized by the use of macromolecular synthesis technology to introduce groups that are easily decomposed under the action of light or microorganisms on the chemical structure of the material, so that plastics can be decomposed in the natural world by the action of light or microorganisms, thereby avoiding a large amount of waste. The environmental pollution of plastic packaging. The synthetic technology and manufacturing cost of biodegradable plastics are not too high. The reason for restricting their development and application lies in the lack of processing equipment for this material and the immature supporting technologies.
The edible packaging materials made from natural organic molecules such as proteins, amino acids, fats and cellulose can be consumed by people and naturally absorbed in the human body, do not cause environmental pollution, and do not need to be recycled to become the current wave of green packaging. Global research hotspots. Currently used are: packaging of meat with collagen membrane made of animal collagen, packaging of fast food with fiber membrane made of chitin, and use of Chinese unique plant konjac to replace chitin to make fiber membrane to become edible packaging material. It can be expected that with the deep implementation of the green packaging project and the development of biotechnology, edible packaging materials will become highly competitive rising stars.
2 Status of Recycling and Utilization of Packaging Waste in China
Due to resource, technical, and economic constraints, it is impossible to completely use natural or edible substances as packaging materials. China is still coexisting with four major packaging materials. Therefore, the recycling of packaging waste has become one of the green packaging projects. The pivotal link must be coordinated with the development of green packaging materials in order to help solve the global shortage of resources and environmental pollution.
The most effective way to recycle packaging waste is to collect and dispose of wastes. Germany, Japan, the United States, and other developed countries have recycled, processed, and commercialized the packaging wastes [4]. In contrast, at present, the recycling of packaging waste in China is still far from scale, and it has not entered the stage of industrialization and science and technology. In many places, waste recycling is still confined to the self-distribution of individual buyers. Although garbage collection and recovery have been implemented in some large cities, people’s awareness of waste recycling and environmental awareness are still weak in the majority of small and medium-sized cities and rural areas. Various packaging wastes have not yet been effectively recycled, but are randomly Discarded in rivers, lakes, mountains and fields, causing great waste of resources and serious environmental pollution. Table 1 shows the comparison of the recycling situation of packaging waste between Europe and the United States and China at the end of the 20th century. From the data of the recovery rates of the four packaging materials shown in the table, we can see that China’s current waste recycling work is obviously inadequate. The recovery rate of paper is only 20%, plastic recovery is about 10%, glass is about 20%, and total metal recovery is less than 1%. At the same time, with the rapid growth of China's economy, the output of packaging products is again on the rise [3]. This will inevitably cause resource shortages and increase environmental pollution. In a sense, the lag in recycling packaging waste has become a constraint. The bottleneck of the development of China's green packaging industry.
Table 1 Comparison of the recycling rate of packaging waste in countries around the world at the end of the 20th century National recycling rate Paper, glass and plastics metal (aluminum cans as an example)
China 20% 20% 10% Less than 10%
United States 60% - 50% More than 75% Western Europe - 30. 5% 60% (Germany) -
Japan 80% 50% 28% 40%
3 Countermeasures and Measures
3. 1 Establish a professional recycling company to increase the recycling of various types of packaging products
In view of the current unreliability of packaging waste recycling in China, it is necessary to set up a specialized recycling company that is responsible for the use of specialized agencies, and to use advanced equipment and technologies to recycle and process all kinds of packaging waste separately to form recycling, disposal and recycling. Virtuous circle and one-stop service.
China is a country with a lack of forest resources. The recovery rate of paper products is low, and the demand for papermaking raw materials is increasing every year. Deforestation as a papermaking raw material for a long time will lead to a crisis in resource and ecological balance. In fact, although the demand for paper products is large, the recovery is relatively easy. After preliminary steps of classification, disintegration, deinking, and cleaning and separation of the ink, it can be reused as a slurry for papermaking, which can save a limited number of forests. Resources, the key to implementing this resource reuse lies in the effective recycling of paper packaging.
Plastic products are far more cost-effective than other materials and can better meet the needs of developing countries and economies. Therefore, they have a large share in packaging products, but lower recycling rates will cause serious environmental pollution. At present, only a small amount Rigid plastic packaging containers are sold outside the waste collection station, and the largest consumption of plastic bags is discarded at will. Although the country promotes the use of biodegradable plastic bags in large supermarkets, hawkers in the vegetable market are still prevalent for personal economic interests. The use of non-degradable ordinary plastic bags, due to the large amount of plastic packaging products, recycling process is more complicated, if you do not implement standardized waste management, it is difficult to effectively improve its recycling efficiency.
Glass has an irreplaceable advantage in the packaging of liquid products, and it is very important to recycle it. It can be recycled and reused after cleaning, sterilization, remelting and converting directly into other uses, not only shortening the production cycle, but also Can save a lot of money and power consumption. However, in addition to the high recovery rate of glass products in some advanced countries, many countries, including China, have done very poorly in this regard and urgently need to establish incentives and penalties to increase recycling efforts.
Although the amount of metal packaging is limited, but because there is no substitute, it is indispensable in the packaging products, except for some large industrial storage tanks, the daily consumption is the largest cans, toothpaste, cans, food boxes and paint cans, toothpaste The skin is now being gradually replaced by plastics. Due to the chaotic recycling of metal products in China, the recovery rate is low.
3.2 Implementation of rewards and penalties system to cultivate consumer awareness of packaging waste recycling
The key to the recycling of packaging waste is the effective classification and recovery of waste. The premise for realizing this goal is that consumers can consciously participate in consciously recognizing the importance of recycling packaging waste for environmental protection and resources. In today's weak awareness of the majority of the population in our country, in addition to increasing publicity efforts, it is necessary to adopt some feasible incentive measures and even legal means to help people establish environmental awareness. In this regard, developed countries have successful experiences that can be used for reference. For example, the pre-paid deposit system for plastic bottles in Switzerland and the Netherlands enables the recycling of packaging wastes to be linked to the direct economic benefits of consumers. Consciously involved in waste recycling awareness and habits.
3. 3 Minimize unnecessary packaging material consumption and eliminate excessive packaging
Excessive packaging not only results in the waste of packaging materials, the complexity of processes, the increase of waste recycling load, but also increases the prices of commodities, which are harmful to resource conservation, environmental protection, and consumer interests. Especially in the absence of such a resource as ours, most people’s lives are not yet affluent, and people’s awareness of waste recycling is still weak. Businessmen should not use excessive packaging to induce consumers to blindly pursue the appearance of luxury goods. This is implemented in China. The packaging project should be given enough attention.
4 Conclusion
The green packaging of commodities is an irreversible development trend, and it is also a complex system engineering. The use of green packaging materials and effective recycling are the two important links. Only the development and application of recycling materials and recycling