Western Green Packaging System

Green packaging refers to packaging that is harmless to the ecological environment and human health, can be recycled, reused or degraded, and can promote sustainable development. Although green packaging is produced in accordance with environmental protection requirements, it is difficult to rely on the market for spontaneous implementation. Therefore, it is essential to regulate green packaging.

In the past decade or so, developed countries have taken measures to formulate laws and related regulations or policies on packaging that contain clear environmental protection measures. China's regulation of green packaging is still imperfect and it is necessary to draw lessons from the experiences of Western countries. At present, the green packaging system in Western developed countries is mainly constructed by legislation, establishment of a recycling system, implementation of tax incentives, research on green packaging materials, and optimization design.

1. Legislation

On June 5, 1972, the UN issued the "Declaration of the Human Environment". On June 5, 1973, the first "World Environment Day" was held in various countries around the world. In terms of global environmental legislation, Europe has been at the forefront of the world, the German Packaging Act 1991, the Dutch Packaging Convention, the Austrian Packaging Act of 1992, the European Environmental Regulations EMAS of 1979, French "Packaging Law", Belgium's "National Ecological Law", 1994 "French Packaging Waste Transport Law", Austria "Consolidation Regulations", 1995 "Recycling Economy Law and Garbage Law", 1996 Various laws and regulations, such as the “Packaging Waste Regulations” in the UK, came out first and echoed with Europe. The United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Brazil, Colombia and other countries and regions also formulated the packaging related laws. In 1993, Japan introduced the Law on Promoting the Utilization of Renewable Resources, and in 1997 it published the "Recycling of Packaging Containers." In the United States, by 1999, 45 states had enacted over 200 recycling regulations for packaging waste management. Regulations.

The environmental protection packaging certification system is ISO14000. At present, most countries in the world use this as a standard to promote the environmental protection packaging model. The ISO14000 series expressly provides that all internationally purchased products (packaging) must undergo environmental certification, ecological assessment, and environmental labeling. Europe has now Eight countries have started to implement the green certification system. Products without environmental management certification will be subject to quantity and price restrictions at the time of import. In 1975, the world’s first green packaging “green dot” logo was introduced in Germany. Circular pattern consisting of green arrows and white arrows. The upper text consists of German DERGRUNEPUNKT, which means "green dots." The green dot's two-colored arrows indicate that the product or packaging is green and can be recycled. It is in line with ecological balance and environmental protection. In 1977, the German government launched the “Blue Sky Enforcement” green environmental protection label and granted products and packaging with green features; Canada, Japan, the United States, Australia, Finland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Italy, the United Kingdom, and other countries also First start environmental labeling for product packaging, such as Canada’s Ye Ge, Japan's "Love the Earth," the United States' "natural friendship" and certification system, China's "Environmental Protection Mark", European Community "European Flower", Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and other Nordic countries "White Swan", French "NF" logo, Austria's "Eco-label", India's "Eco-logo", Korea's "Eco-label", Singapore's "Green Logo", New Zealand's "Environmental Choice", Portuguese “Eco-products” and Croatia’s “environmentally friendly” are all representatives of them. Countries around the world have also formulated green product logos, but the names of eco-labels vary from country to country, the US “EPA mark” and Canada’s “EV system”. , Japan's "ecosystem standard", France's "NF environment", etc. Currently, the world's more successful ecological signs are Germany's "Blue Angel" (BLUEANGEL) and Japan's "Ecomark" (ECOMARK). The state promotes eco-labeling programs and eco-labels have become more and more understood by consumers.

2. Establish a deposit repayment system

The environmental protection packaging requirements go through the entire process of product design, production, packaging, and sales, and until waste utilization and recycling, the packaging waste of the goods must be able to meet the requirements of recycling, recycling, harmlessness, and pollution. At present, the United States, Canada, and Australia Countries such as Germany, Japan, France and other developed countries have formulated corresponding regulations and policies for the treatment and recycling of packaging wastes. In 1988, waste separation began in France. In 1990, waste was widely distributed in Europe. In 1981, the Danish government increased The empty bottles of beverage containers will have a negative impact. First, the "Recycling of Packaging Containers" Act was introduced, the use of disposable beer and beverage containers was banned, and the importation of such containers of beer and beverages was also banned. In June 1990, the EU The conference was held in Dublin and the idea of ​​“full protection of the environment” was put forward. The “Waste Transport Law” was enacted, which stipulated that packaging waste could not be shipped to other countries, and countries should take responsibility for waste. Germany issued the “Packaging Waste Disposal” Act in 1991. , take measures to promote the industry to change the PVC bottles used for beverages to PET bottles, Recycling 80% of PET bottles, recycling resources are available, and sorting and recycling are performed. Since packaging waste is a major issue of environmental pollution, countries are trying their best to sort and recycle packaging waste for recycling. The classification of packaging waste in Germany The collection is well done. It not only recycles a large amount of useful materials, but also uses waste to generate electricity through incineration to generate energy, and it also reduces environmental pollution. Finland and Japan attach great importance to the recycling of paper packaging after recycling, which all indicate that Focusing on the development of environmentally-friendly packaging products, on the one hand, it is important for packaging companies to not neglect the importance of recycling renewable packaging resources.

3. Implement tax incentives or penalties and other measures

Since the implementation of the “plastic tax” by the Irish Ministry of Environment, consumers have used plastic bags that have been reduced by more than 95%, and have reduced their national budget by 11 million euros each year. The Irish plastics tax stipulates that each plastic bag shall be taxed at 15 s in order to reduce the number of plastic bags used by consumers. The 1.2 billion plastic bags distributed by Irish merchants for free in 2001 were in fact mostly scattered on the streets and hung on the trees. The tip or fence, so the government decided to levy a plastic tax to eliminate environmental pollution. Since the plastics tax came into effect, remarkable results have been achieved. The consumption of plastic bags has been reduced by more than 95%. Most consumers prefer to reuse the existing plastic bags or recyclable plastic bags to the maximum. A spokesman for the Irish Ministry of Environment pointed out: "Ireland is the only country in the world that implements this mechanism, but our experience has aroused widespread interest in New Zealand and other countries."

4. Research on green packaging materials and optimization design

Environmental protection is a worldwide topic. A “green wave” is emerging in the global scope. The packaging industry must also consider environmental issues while developing. At present, many European and American companies focus on the development of “green packaging materials” that meet environmental requirements. Pulp forming packaging is gradually To replace traditional plastic materials that are difficult to degrade, for example, a U.S. company has developed a reusable paper packaging mat which is made of old newspapers and then re-manufactured into such a package, which can replace the now widely used non-degradable foamed plastic mats; Taking environmental protection into consideration at the same time requires attention to packaging design. The first is to use the same material or separable material when designing the packaging. The packaging material made of a single material is easy to recycle, such as a type of high-density polyethylene that does not appear on the market today. The base of the pure polyester Coke bottle, for easy regeneration. Multi-layered composite materials must be considered for ease of separation without hindering reuse. Another example is an aluminum beverage surface coating organic coating, in the recovery of melting organic coatings can be burned without difficulty in recycling, and complex paper and plastic packaging is difficult to separate for purification; Second, the design of recycling packaging Using recycled packaging materials saves resources and reduces pollution. Some developed countries are advocating appropriate packaging so that manufacturers can simplify packaging. Japan even proposed the idea of ​​“zero packaging” and developed edible packaging. Food packaging is a big industry for packaging industrial products, accounting for about 70% of the packaging industry. Solving the problem of food packaging waste is a major issue for the packaging industry. Developing edible packaging materials is a good way to solve the contradiction between food packaging discarding and environmental protection. The development of edible packaging is a new approach. Its goal is to create a packaging film that does not affect the flavor of the food being packaged. This kind of film is edible, as a company makes a kind of edible potato chips, and people eat it. After the potatoes are edible, their packaging will not be wasted. Japan has developed a shell-like substance that can be used as an edible wrapping paper. The instant noodle flavours packaged in edible packaging paper can be directly cooked in a hot pot. The use of edible packaging not only facilitates consumer spending, but also avoids packaging waste. Environmental pollution is worth promoting.

In recent years, increasing packaging waste has brought considerable pressure on environmental protection. According to statistics, the amount of municipal solid waste was increasing in the 1990s, with 150 million tons of waste in 1995. With 50% of the city's waste volume and 33% of its weight, it has become a headache for governments. Western developed countries are under the dual pressure of resource crisis and prevention and control of pollution. They have attached great importance to the development of “green packaging”. Recycling of packaging materials has already formed industries in developed countries in Europe and America. The experience and practices of its systems are worthy of our reference. China is a developing country and its average per capita resource ratio is far lower than that of developed countries. It is necessary and responsible to put the issue of “green packaging” in an important position. We must start with the development of recycling materials, facilitation, and pollution reduction of packaging materials. Develop new green packaging materials and strengthen environmental protection by strengthening legislation to facilitate sustainable development in the 21st century.




Source: China Packaging