Suzhou, July 21 (Reporter Wang Hanjuan) - At the 2023 Green Recycled Plastic Supply Chain Forum held in Suzhou from July 19 to 20, the "Baseline Report on the Recycling and Utilization of Plastic Flexible Packaging in China" (hereinafter referred to as the report) was officially released. According to the report, the consumption of flexible packaging plastics in China in 2022 is about 32.8 million tons, of which the consumption of flexible packaging plastics from domestic sources is about 16 million tons, and the recycling amount is about 1.3 million tons, with a recycling rate of 8.7%.

Plastic flexible packaging refers to various types of film packaging made of plastic as the main raw material, such as bags, sleeves, and packaging. It includes flexible packaging for daily use that is circulated and used in consumer sectors, and industrial flexible packaging that is generated during production and processing. Plastic flexible packaging has become one of the main packaging forms for goods due to its rich functions, diverse forms of expression, superior performance, and low cost.

In order to find out the relevant situation of plastic flexible packaging waste, build a plastic flexible packaging recycling chain, and promote the sustainable operation of the recycling and recycling industrial system, the joint working group of the green renewable plastic supply chain and the recycled plastics branch of the China Material Recycling Association, together with Procter&Gamble China, Mars China, Dow and PepsiCo, jointly launched the recycling project of plastic flexible packaging, Research was conducted on the recycling and recycling of plastic flexible packaging, and the report was released.

This report focuses on the recycling, regeneration, and utilization of non degradable plastic flexible packaging for daily use, and elaborates on aspects such as raw materials, consumption, waste, recycling, recycling processing, application, and value chain. Based on the key results of the research, relevant suggestions are proposed, "said Zhou Wandi, a representative of the Soft Plastic New Project Group.

The report shows that in 2022, the Chinese packaging industry consumed approximately 49.2 million tons of plastic, of which flexible packaging plastic accounted for approximately 67%. Among the 16 million tons of living source plastic flexible packaging, food accounts for 43%, followed by disposable shopping bags, vest bags, Bin bag, flexible packaging accounts for 11%, express packaging accounts for 9%, clothing packaging accounts for 8%, beauty and cosmetics accounts for 6%, and other fields account for 24%.

The recycling rate of flexible plastic packaging for daily use is only 8.7%, far lower than the 30% recycling rate of waste plastic in China. A large amount of waste flexible packaging is buried or burned, causing huge resource waste and environmental hazards, "said Zhou Wandi.

The report also analyzes the factors affecting the recovery of plastic flexible packaging, which are mainly reflected in five aspects: low awareness of recyclability, low value, high recovery cost, difficult high-value regeneration and application, insufficient connection between upstream and downstream demands, and insufficient Ecological design of plastic flexible packaging.

In the research conducted by the project team, it was found that only 18% of residents believe that it can be recycled, and over 93% of residents are unable to distinguish between single material, composite material, and biodegradable soft packaging, posing a challenge for front-end classification and collection.

Due to factors such as the bulky volume and light weight of discarded plastic flexible packaging, the recycling benefits are minimal, and residents have a weak willingness to accumulate such recyclable materials. In addition, due to its characteristics, the logistics cost of recyclers is high and it is difficult to achieve automated sorting.

Meanwhile, due to the soft plastic color