Ecological Packaging: The Necessity of Circular Economy (I)

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 have purchased green products. (To be continued)