Ecological Packaging: Circulation Economy of Health Industry

The packaging industry is one of the major industries of China's national economy. It has sustained high-speed development in the past decade or so. However, the development of the packaging industry also consumes a lot of resources. In China, the industrialization level of the packaging industry is still low, the use of packaging products and recycling and processing systems are incomplete, management tools are scarce, and packaging waste causes serious environmental pollution. 70% of packaging products produced in China are discarded after use, and annual packaging waste exceeds 15 million tons, and as much as 12 kilograms per capita. In addition, from the investigation and statistics of the waste composition structure, it can be seen that while the production volume of urban waste in China has increased rapidly, the increase in packaging waste has become apparent. Therefore, how to control the pollution of packaging waste has become a public concern. It is imperative that China's packaging industry should be included in the circular economy to promote ecological packaging in an all-round way. Ecological packaging will be an inevitable trend in the development of packaging industry in circular economy.

Ecological packaging refers to the packaging of goods that can be accepted by humans, compatible with the ecological environment, can be economically manufactured, and effectively perform its functions. Ecological packaging is the extension and intensification of the concept of green packaging. Ecological packaging fully considers the impact of the whole life cycle of packaging on resources, energy and ecological environment, and strives to reduce the environmental load of packaging materials and achieve functional and environmental adaptability of packaging. Balanced and unified.

Pursue cleaner production and develop ecological packaging

Based on the concept of circular economy, cleaner production aims at energy saving, consumption reduction, pollution reduction, and efficiency improvement. It uses technical management as a means to design and produce optimal production processes and products to eliminate or reduce industrial production to human health and ecology. The adverse effects of the environment. The fundamental purpose of cleaner production is to carry out non-waste, less waste production, to achieve "zero emissions" of pollution in the production process and the greenization of manufactured products, that is, not only to achieve pollution-free and less pollution in the production process, but also to use and ultimately produce its products. There will be no damage to the environment during the scrapping process. The clean production of commodity packaging requires the manufacturer to follow the principle of economic activity “reduction, reuse, and resource recycling” of the circular economy during the entire life cycle of packaging, so as to minimize the environmental impact of packaging. "Reduction" is directed at the input. It requires less raw material and energy input to achieve the intended production or consumption. At the source of economic activity, attention should be paid to saving resources and reducing pollution. Fortunately, waste should be avoided through prevention rather than end-of-pipe management. The implementation of “reduction” of commodity packaging should begin with the improvement of design. When ensuring the protection, transportation, storage, and sales functions of packaging, priority is given to minimizing the total amount of materials used, adopting the smallest possible volume of packaging design as much as possible. Packaging or disposable packaging does not meet the reduction principle.

“Reuse” refers to the time intensity of the product. It requires the product and the packaging container to be used in the initial form as many times as possible or in multiple ways to prevent the item from being littered prematurely in order to resist the disposable products in the world today. flood. For packaging, it is necessary to extend its life cycle and use reusable packaging containers to increase the recycling rate of the packaging to save energy and materials. In addition to the selection of reusable materials, it is also crucial to improve the quality of packaging design. If the service life of a package product is doubled, half of the packaging waste will be correspondingly reduced.

"Resources" is directed at the output. It requires that the produced items can be turned into usable resources instead of garbage after they have completed their use functions, so as to reduce the final processing volume, that is, the comprehensive utilization of waste. Designers of packaging products should pay attention to selecting materials with reusable value so that packaging waste can be recycled back into the economic cycle. In the operation of circular economy, establishing a company's environmental protection management system (EMS) is the key to the implementation of clean production, but also the primary conditions for the development of ecological packaging. To establish an EMS system, we must first assess the company's environmental behavior and environmental impact. The contents include energy consumption, material consumption of packaging products, and emission indicators (such as sewage, waste, and incineration) during the production of packaging materials and packaging products. Or post-buried pollution, etc.), the comprehensive impact of corporate activities on environmental protection, etc. The evaluation results will help companies choose environmental technologies, clean processes and new management systems. On the basis of environmental assessment, we will establish an “environmental protection management system” whose core content is environmental policy, environmental planning, implementation and operation, inspection and correction, and management review. The EMS system will ensure that companies implement "green standards" and eventually achieve the goal of "ecological packaging." The environmental policy, environmental protection objectives and activity plan formulated by the company should be compatible with the company's own attributes, scale, production activities, products and services that affect the environment, and save resources, reduce pollution, recycle, and comply with relevant regulations. Promise of. EMS will also be responsible for routine tasks such as environmental supervision and environmental inspections.

Promote green consumption and build an ecological packaging market atmosphere

With the improvement of people’s quality of life and the enhancement of environmental awareness, consumers’ attitudes, values, behaviors, and consumer psychology have changed dramatically. This has led to the “green consumer” fashion in the world. Green consumption is the consumption behavior of the general public in the circular economy. Consumers who are directly responsible for packaging wastes need to establish values ​​and consumption concepts that are in harmony with the environment, consciously choose lifestyles and consumption patterns that are conducive to the environment, and promote the development of commodity packaging in the direction of “ecological packaging” and promote The market is shifting towards a circular economy. Green consumption has become a trend of the times. According to relevant resource statistics, 82% of Germans and 62% of Dutch people give priority to environmental protection when shopping in supermarkets; 66% of Britons are willing to spend more money on green products; 84% of Americans are willing to buy Fruits and vegetables produced through organic farming methods; More than 80% of consumers in Europe and the United States have put environmental protection shopping first and are willing to pay higher prices for environmental cleanliness. Green consumption also has a certain market in China. According to a survey conducted by the China Social Survey Office, 72% of people believe that the development of the environmental protection industry and the development of green products are beneficial to improving the environment; 54% are willing to use green products, and 38% People said they purchased green products.

Green consumption depends on the green sign to guide.

As far as the world packaging industry is concerned, Germany has taken the lead in implementing ecological packaging and using green signs. Subsequently, the European Union, the United States, Japan, and Canada have followed suit. "Environmental Protection Mark" is a green mark in international standards. The WOT rule shows that any product that obtains the "Environmental Protection Mark" can enter the international market. The European Union has recently reiterated that the product packaging must have the principle of "Environmental Protection Marking". 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 purchase merchandise. Instead, they are more concerned about whether the products meet the requirements of environmental protection and whether there are green signs on the packaging. Consumers are privileged to make a contribution to the environmental protection business by buying products with a green logo. As consumer demand for ecological packaging is relatively strong, manufacturers of goods will proceed from their own economic interests and will also have to take into account the environmental factors of product packaging, take the initiative to adopt ecological packaging, and implement green marketing to cater to consumers. The psychology promotes the sale of goods.

In addition to green shopping, green consumption also requires consumers to develop consumption habits that are conducive to the recycling of packaging waste. The environmental protection department shall set up classified bins in parks, streets, and residential quarters to guide people to consciously sort and recycle the packaging wastes. Promote and support the community to initiate “green shopping” activities, go out to purchase goods, try to bring their own shopping bags, and reduce the use of “use or throw” packaging products, such as disposable plastic lunch boxes, plastic bags, paper cups, etc., to encourage people to use repeatable Used and recycled packaging containers.

Strengthen Recycling and Reuse to Realize the Ecological Cycle of Packaging Waste

From the perspective of circular economy, the assessment of the impact of the input and output of an economic system on the environment must be based on the entire process and the entire system, rather than on only one or a part of it. Therefore, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a technical idea for microeconomic analysis of circular economy. It requires the analysis of the system's resource consumption and pollution emissions from the entire process of materials and energy, ie, extraction, processing, transportation, use, recycling, and final disposal, in order to grasp the whole process and the whole system to the ecological environment. Impact, thereby assessing the merits of the system's ecological and economic benefits. If people implement clean production during mining and processing, and implement clean circulation and green consumption during transportation and use, and can not completely avoid the possible environmental pollution caused by packaging waste, then they should be in the recycling cycle and final disposal. In the final stage, as much waste as possible is recovered and used, and residual waste is finally disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner.

The greatest benefit of recycling and recycling of packaging waste is to save energy and resources, not only to create considerable economic benefits, but also to generate 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; recycling of steel and glass waste The material can save 50% of the energy needed to produce the material; using plastic waste to make parts or packaging containers can save 85%-90% of the energy needed to produce plastics. At present, China still pays insufficient attention to the recycling and reuse of packaging waste. The recovery technology is backward, the system is not perfect, and the recycling rate is very low. According to statistics, the recycling rate of waste packaging paper in China is only 30%. The packaging of medicines, canned goods, cosmetics, etc. is almost completely abandoned, and plastic recycling is only 30%. We should learn from the successful experiences of developed countries and actively carry out the recycling and reuse of packaging waste.

One is the rule of law, which will force companies to recycle packaging waste.

German law clearly stipulates that since July 1, 1995, the recycling rate of packaging materials such as glass, tinplate, aluminum, cardboard and plastic must reach 80%. The goal of the Dutch government is to reduce the national “production” of waste by 70%-90% within 10 years. France stipulates that manufacturers and importers must complete 70% of the recycling rate of used packaging in 2000. In 2003, 85% of packaging materials should be recycled. In the United Kingdom, it was stipulated in 2000 that 60% of industrial packaging and 30% of household packaging should be recycled. 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. The "Cleaner Production Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that: Enterprises that produce and sell products and packaging items that have been included in the compulsory recycling catalog must recycle the products and packaging after the products are scrapped and used; Compulsory recycling of products and packaging of catalogues shall be subject to economic measures conducive to recycling; the government's economic and trade administrative department shall regularly inspect the implementation of compulsory recycling of products and packaging, and promptly announce the inspection results to the public; failing to perform the products or packaging In case of recovery, the administrative department of economic and trade administration shall order it to make correction within a time limit; if it refuses to make corrections, it shall be fined not more than 100,000 yuan. Circular economy policies and regulations warns people: The manufacturers and sellers of packaged products should be responsible for the entire life cycle of the products. They are obliged to recycle the waste generated from their products and bear the necessary expenses; The packaging produced in industrial enterprises and circulation enterprises Waste must not enter municipal waste disposal systems. This means that whoever produces these products must be responsible for recycling the packaging waste of these products; if you can't recycle the packaging waste according to the stipulated indicators, you have no right to continue to organize production, which enhances producers and sellers to reduce packaging waste. The consciousness of things has also changed people's perception of packaging waste and viewed it as a renewable resource that can be used.

The second is to use economic leverage to promote

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