Review of recycling of plastic packaging material waste in various countries (2)

2.2 Japan

Japan is the most comprehensive country in circular economy legislation, and its goal is to establish a "circular society" of resources. This is closely related to the shortage of domestic energy. In light of this, Japan has always maintained a positive attitude towards the recycling of waste plastics.

In 1997, Japan's "Container Packaging Recycling Law" was introduced. This regulation makes strict regulations for the recycling of plastic packaging: PET bottle manufacturers and beverage manufacturers using PET bottles must bear the corresponding recovery costs; consumers must also classify wastes and collect them on time, littering them. Will be fined or even sentenced. The regulations have even made detailed provisions on the body, caps, trademarks, colors, etc. of PET bottles. Manufacturers must produce them as required in order to facilitate recycling. The collected plastic bottles are crushed in the factory and crushed into textile products, clothes hangers, and garbage cans.

In 2001, the "Plastic Bottle Recycling Promotion Association", formed by Japanese beverage manufacturers and plastic bottle manufacturers, decided that the production of colored plastic bottles would be stopped. Because in recycling, the mixing of colored plastic bottles not only degrades the quality of the recycled product, but also increases the difficulty of manual handling. In order to solve the problem of light protection, it is currently the case that all transparent bottles are covered with labels to solve the problem of ultraviolet radiation. In Japan, the work of container recycling is coordinated by five government departments - the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Finance, and the Environment Agency, to provide a certain amount of subsidies for recycling containers. In Japan, more than 3,200 municipalities, wells, and towns are responsible for container recycling operations managed by the Japan Container Packaging Recycling Association. By 2001, 51 PET recycling companies had been recognized by the association. The cost of plastic bottle recycling is borne by the three parties: local administration is responsible for 1% of the cost, and the remaining 99% is shared by 80% and 20% of the beverage manufacturers and bottle manufacturers, respectively.

In addition, Japan decided to vigorously support the industrial waste-based power generation business, which is mainly based on waste plastics. It is planned that by 2010, a total of 150 waste plastic power generation facilities will be built in Japan, making industrial waste power generation an important part of new energy.

2.3 United States

The United States is a world leader in the production of plastics. As early as the 1960s, extensive research on the recycling of waste plastics has been carried out. From the local departments, counties, and states, regulations have been established for the restrictions on the use and disposal of plastic products.

In 1988, 21 states in the United States promulgated the provisions of 1332 to restrict and ban certain plastic and plastic packaging. However, many changes have taken place in the implementation, such as California, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida in the United States. In the early 1990s, some bans were cancelled. Instead, it formulated the “Resource Protection and Recycling Measures” to regulate the disposal of solids and discarded materials, specifying that the recycling rate of plastic products should be 65%, and the recycling rate should be 45%. Florida stipulated in 1988 that sales of plastic bottles each received a 1 cent promoted waste plastic processing fee (ADF), which was modified in 1993 to use 20% of waste plastic containers or to recycle 25% of plastic containers in Honshu ADF.

New York State banned the use of non-biodegradable vegetable bags in 1989, subsidized manufacturers of degradable plastics, and required the public to separate renewable and non-renewable waste, or a fine of $ 500.

California's decree in 1991 required that the recycling rate of waste plastics reach 25% by 1995, or that all containers contain 25% of waste plastics, reduce 10% of raw materials, and be reused 5 times; and in 1995, garbage bags were used in production. 30% recycled plastic.

Many national organizations are promoting the recycling of waste plastics. Such as: American Plastic Industry Association (SPI), Plastic Recycling Foundation (PRE), Plastic Recycling Research Center (CPRR), Vinyl Research Institute (SPI a branch) and so on. For ease of classification, SPI has developed plastic material symbols, which are required to be marked on the bottom of the container. There are 39 states that are implementing the law. In addition, some large plastics production companies in the United States are also involved in the recycling of waste plastics. For example, eight largest PS manufacturers, such as Amoco, Mobile, Pollisa, Herzmann, Alco, Chevron, and Dafena, set up PS recycling. The center, with a total investment of US$16 million, recycles foamed PS, and recycled plastics are used to make cassettes, offices and home appliances.

In 1999, 45 states in the United States formulated more than 2,000 recycling and reuse regulations such as packaging waste management regulations.

2.4 China

In the past decade or so, China has enacted a series of large and small laws and regulations.

· In 1996, the State promulgated the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Treatment of Solid Wastes," which clearly stipulates that disposable plastic packaging should use products that are easy to recycle, easy to dispose, or easy to absorb in the natural environment.

· In July 1996, the Ministry of Railways banned the use of foam plastic lunch boxes at all railway stations across the country; the Ministry of Health also notified that the manufacturer of plastic food packaging will no longer be approved in the future, and gradually reform, limit and eliminate non-degradable plastic snacks. Box production.

· In September 1998, the State Environmental Protection Administration, together with the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Communications, and the National Tourism Administration jointly issued the “Several Opinions on Strengthening the Management of Waste Plastic Packaging Waste in Key Traffic Routes, Watersheds, and Scenic Spots”, which is prohibited at railway stations and passenger trains. Disposable foam plastic utensils are used on passenger ships and cruise ships that are shipped in inland waters such as the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake.

· In December 1999, the State Economic and Trade Commission jointly announced with the National Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Health the two national standards of "General Specifications for Disposable Degradable Catering Tools" and "Test Methods for Degradation Performance of Disposable Degradable Catering Sets". Since January 1, 2000, it has been implemented to provide a unified technical basis for the supervision of the production, sales and use of disposable degradable tableware in China.

·In April 2001, the State Economic and Trade Commission issued the "Emergency Notice on the Immediate Stopping of the Production of Disposable Plastic Foam Tableware." All production enterprises (including domestic investment, foreign investment, and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwanese investment companies) are required to stop producing disposable foam plastic tableware immediately.

·In January 2002, the four-member bureaux of the State Economic and Trade Commission, the State Environmental Protection Administration, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine jointly issued the "Circular on Strengthening the Elimination of Law Enforcement Supervision of Disposable Plastic Foam Tableware".

(to be continued)