Several Problems in the Development of Green Packaging

With the advent of the new century, environmental protection has become a problem that involves the survival and development of every company and individual. With the continuous emergence of new environmentally friendly materials and technologies, green packaging has gradually become a realistic choice. Establishing environmental awareness and keeping up with the trend of international green packaging is the only way that China's packaging industry can shorten the gap with the developed countries and meet the development needs of domestic and foreign trade. At present, there are several issues in the implementation of green packaging should be paid attention. First, attach importance to the development and replacement of packaging materials As the international community has become increasingly demanding in its protection of the environment, the international trade field has also put forward the slogan “Let trade put on green clothing”. Therefore, as one of the main factors of environmental pollution, non-recyclable packaging materials have been widely used in the application, and the disposal of other used packaging materials has to be placed on the agenda of the packaging industry in various countries. In practice, many people in the environmental protection and packaging industry have gradually realized that rather than focusing their resources and funds on the disposal of used packaging materials, it is better to start from the source and invest more financial and material resources in new packaging materials. The development of new packaging technologies. For example, after decades of using plastics as packaging materials in Europe and the United States, it is deeply felt that such materials are not easily decomposed and their wastes are difficult to handle. They have adopted measures to restrict or prohibit the use of plastic packaging materials, and they are actively looking for alternatives. Or recyclable materials as packaging materials. At present, many countries in the world are researching the replacement of existing packaging plastics with "biodegradable resins." The "corn starch resin" that has been successfully researched in Japan and Taiwan in the near future is a new type of green environmental protection material with a broad prospect of utilization. The resin is made of corn as raw material, processed and plasticized, and the packaging material made of it can be disposed of through burning, biochemical decomposition, and insect feeding, thereby eliminating the danger of “white pollution”. According to information recently disclosed by Taiwan Province of China, the number of plastic bags produced per ton of corn resin in Taiwan is now almost the same as that produced with plastic pellets. According to statistics from the Taiwanese plastics industry, about 100 million tons of plastic products are produced each year in the world, and 30 million tons of disposable packaging materials are used each year. Solving the pollution caused by these materials will cost a lot of social costs. If corn resin can successfully replace some of the packaging plastics, it is estimated that there will be a market worth US$10 billion annually. Food science experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have also recently announced that a new environment-friendly food packaging material is expected to come out recently. The new environmentally-friendly packaging material is completely made of crushed strawberries, so it is very environmentally friendly. It is estimated that this new type of material will likely replace the traditional polyethylene plastic film in the future and become the main material for the food packaging industry. According to Ta ra M cH gh, a food expert of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this newly developed food packaging material is no different from traditional products in terms of performance. It is made of food packaging. The film can also prevent the infiltration of oxygen, so as to achieve the effect of food preservation. Since the ingredients of this new material are mainly derived from vegetables and fruits that are not suitable for consumption, it is a naturally decomposable and environmentally friendly material. In testing, packaging films made from this “magic” material not only served to preserve freshness, but also improved the taste of fruits such as bananas and apples. McHugh said that in the near future, not only can strawberries be used as packaging materials, but also vegetables and fruits such as carrots and broccoli can be used as packaging materials. There is no doubt that the successful application of this new packaging material and other similar materials will revolutionize the food packaging industry. In China, the development of new packaging materials has also achieved certain results. For example, Hubei Wuhan Futuo Environmental Packaging Materials Co., Ltd. and Wuhan Jinfeng Environmental Plastics Co., Ltd. have mastered the technology of processing deteriorating grain into earthquake-proof decompression packaging materials, which not only finds a way out for China’s metamorphic grain, but also successfully explores the replacement of packaging materials. the road. In addition, they are also able to process wastes such as bagasse, wheat straw, and waste newspapers into a variety of shock-proof decompression packaging materials such as gold, orange, and light gray. Tests have shown that the performance of this material is not inferior to that of foamed plastic materials. At present, only further research is needed on weight reduction. From the above information and analysis, we can see that the international packaging industry has entered the era of developing environmentally-friendly materials and replacing traditional materials. China's packaging industry should also actively follow up, turning the focus of green packaging on the development and replacement of packaging materials. Come up. Second, pay attention to packaging waste recycling and reuse Packaging plays a crucial role in the promotion of goods, but it is also a heavy burden for countries and companies, such as commodity packaging requires a lot of energy and materials, waste packaging materials Serious environmental pollution. Therefore, since the 1970s, the recovery and reuse of packaging waste has become a topic in the study of the sustainable development strategy of the packaging industry in various countries. Paying attention to the recycling and reuse of packaging waste, the biggest advantage is that it can save energy and resources. According to relevant data analysis, the recycling of cans and other aluminum materials can save 95% of the energy used to produce aluminum; recycling of steel and glass waste can save 50% of the energy needed to produce the materials; use plastic waste to make parts or packaging Containers can save 85-90% of the energy needed to produce plastics. At present, many governments are guiding enterprises to strengthen related work through policies, regulations, and other forms, and have achieved significant social and economic benefits. For example, the tinplate recovery rate in Germany reaches 50%, the corrugated paper recovery rate reaches 55%, and the waste paper recovery rate reaches 18%. The U.S. has created 4 billion U.S. dollars in wealth through the recycling of packaging waste in the past 10 years. In comparison, at present, China still does not pay enough attention to the recycling of commodity packaging waste. The recovery technology is backward, the system is not perfect, and the recycling rate is very low. According to the relevant information, the recycling rate of used packaging paper in China is only 30%. The packaging of medicines, cans, cosmetics, etc. is almost completely abandoned, and the plastic recycling rate is only 30%. The relevant departments have repeatedly called for the recycling of packaging materials. However, there is little effect. On the one hand, this situation has caused a huge waste of raw materials and energy in our country. On the other hand, it has caused serious pollution to the living environment, which has affected the further improvement of people's quality of life, and runs counter to the requirements of China's economic sustainable development. Therefore, it is an important task for the packaging industry in China to develop green packaging and strengthen the research on recycling and reuse of packaging waste. III. Actively adapting to the boom in green consumption As people's demands for quality of life continue to increase, the environmental protection requirements of consumers when shopping are increasingly clear. People's ways of thinking, values, behaviors, and consumer psychology have all undergone tremendous changes. This has led to the emergence of “green consumer” fashion in the world and the promotion of commodity packaging in the direction of “green packaging”. According to statistics, 67-83% of people in Western countries will consider environmental protection when shopping in supermarkets. Green consumption also has a certain market in China. Beijing applied to host the 2008 Olympic Games and put forward the slogan of “Green Olympics”; this year’s “3.15” consumer rights protection activities also take “green consumption” as the theme. The above situation shows from different perspectives that green consumption and green marketing have become the consensus of the international community. Driven by the trend of green consumption, people will no longer only pay attention to whether the quality of the goods is qualified or whether the packaging is exquisite when they buy merchandise. Instead, they are more concerned about whether the products meet the requirements of environmental protection and whether there is a “green packaging mark” on the packaging. For example, there are many “green shops” in the environmentally-conscious streets of Switzerland. They sell green products with green packaging. Consumers feel privileged to purchase things there and feel that they have made some contributions to environmental protection. As consumer demand for green packaging is relatively strong, manufacturers of goods will, from their own interests, also have to take into account the environmental factors of product packaging, adopt green packaging, and implement green marketing to cater to consumers. The psychology promotes the sale of goods. In addition, various governments have taken corresponding measures in adapting to the boom in green consumption. At present, many countries in the world have formulated various laws and regulations to impose more and more stringent environmental protection requirements on the packaging materials of domestic and imported goods. Even such regulations objectively raise the threshold for the entry of relevant goods and restrict the use of goods. The role of imports. For example, in order to promote the use of reusable and recycled packaging products, the European Union has stipulated that from 2000 onwards, packaging materials that cannot be reused or recycled cannot be excluded from the market. France stipulates that manufacturers and importers must complete 70% of the recycling rate of used packaging in 2000. The United Kingdom stipulates that in 2000, 60% of industrial product packaging and 35% of household product packaging will be recycled for recycling.