Research on Green Packaging System Based on Circular Economy

While the rapid development of the global economy and the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, resources and the environment have become the main issues facing humanity. Packaging plays an important role in human production, circulation, and consumer activities. It has become an indispensable part of people's lives and the world trade. However, the environmental pollution caused by packaging waste and the waste of resources caused by excessive packaging have seriously affected the social economy. Sustainable development. Therefore, how to develop green packaging and integrate the packaging industry into the circular economy has become an urgent issue to be resolved.

First, circular economy and green packaging

Circular economy is the most advanced mode of economic development in the 21st century. It is a cycle of “resources → products → waste → renewable resources”. It advocates an economic development model based on the continuous recycling of materials. All materials and energy must be reasonably and lastingly used in this ongoing economic cycle to reduce the impact of economic activities on the natural world. To the least extent possible.

Green packaging refers to the fact that in the entire life cycle of product packaging, it can not only meet the functional requirements of packaging economically, but also does not cause pollution to the ecological environment, does not cause harm to human health, and can be recycled and reused to meet sustainable development. The request. Green packaging requires packaging reduction, reuse, recycling, and Degradable, which is the usual 3R1D principle. It fully considers the entire life cycle of packaging. With regard to the impact of resources, energy, and the ecological environment, efforts will be made to reduce the environmental load of packaging materials and to achieve a balance and unification of packaging functionality and environmental adaptability.

China’s resources per capita are small and its resource utilization is low. According to the requirements of the scientific development concept, vigorously developing circular economy and accelerating the construction of a resource-saving society are very important and urgent. At present, China’s annual packaging output is about 30 million tons. Except for the better recovery of cartons of beer bottles and plastic turnover containers, other recycling rates are quite low, reaching less than 20% of the total output, and more than 25 million packaging wastes are generated every year. Tons, waste packaging accounts for 30% of total waste. Therefore, the development of green packaging, taking the road of circular economy has become a necessary and effective way to save resources and eliminate pollution.

Second, China's obstacles to the development of green packaging

(I) Green packaging management laws and regulations are not sound

At present, China has also formulated a series of packaging-related laws, regulations, policies and standards. For example, the “Cleaner Production Law” and the “Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes” stipulate the design and reduction of products and packaging, as well as the rational use of solid waste, excessive packaging, and waste gas recycling. However, the above regulations are only based on the traditional economy. They do not regard the over-packaging of goods, the management of hazardous packaging materials, the management of packaging waste, etc. from the source of production until the final disposal as a complete life cycle. The specification of packaging waste is also It only deals with one or more of the links of production-consumption-recycling-recycling-utilization. It does not manage the whole process and violates the basic concept of circular economy.

(II) Lack of policy support in the green packaging industry

Green packaging, as a new industry, is still in the early stage of development in China, and requires the introduction and development of technology. Due to the adoption of advanced technology and the limited production scale of enterprises, green packaging products are often more expensive than traditional packaging products. When packaging products compete, they do not have price advantages, which directly leads to the disadvantages of green packaging products in market competition. In China, there is no clear policy supporting the green packaging industry.

(III) Insufficient enterprise innovation capability

China's packaging industry started late, its foundation is weak, and its technological innovation capacity is insufficient. Compared with developed countries, it is 20 years behind the overall level. For example, the application of environmentally friendly polylactic acid in packaging, developed countries applied for the first in 1992. At the end of 2005, the patents disclosed a total of 121 patent families and 246 patents. However, China only applied for 12 patents, and domestic applicants only applied for 4 patents by the end of 2005, accounting for only 3%. The investment in science and technology is one of the important conditions for innovation. The successful experience of industrial powers shows that 1% of companies’ investment in research and development accounted for sales is difficult to survive, while 2% can barely maintain, and only 5% can be competitive. The average level of R&D investment by packaging companies in China is less than 1%. Therefore, it is imperative to increase personnel training and R&D investment.

(IV) Lack of institutional promotion of green consumption concepts

Although the state has successively introduced some laws and regulations concerning the protection of resources and environmental protection, such as the “Water Pollution Prevention Act” and “Forest Law”, which involve the control of consumption and the promotion of green consumption, there is currently no standardization of consumption. Activity and behavior regulations. Green consumption is the consumption behavior of the general public in the circular economy. China's green consumption started late, and it has not become the people's consumption habits. According to the survey, 72% of people believe that the development of the environmental protection industry and the development of green products are beneficial to the improvement of the environment. 54% of people are willing to use green products, and 38% of them said they have purchased green products. From the survey figures, Chinese consumers already have a certain understanding of green consumption, and the concept of green consumption has begun to take shape. However, there are not many people who actually put it into practice. The concept of green consumption needs system promotion.

Third, improve the green packaging system to achieve circular economy

The practice in countries all over the world shows that in order to protect the environment, save resources, and promote green packaging, the most effective way is to implement legislation and use mandatory means to manage packaging resources. In the long run, China should formulate the “Recycling Economy Law” as an overstatement. At present, China should pay close attention to the formulation of the “Packaging Law” to solve the problems of excessive packaging and packaging wastes, and achieve sustainable socio-economic development.

(I) Formulate "Packaging Law" to achieve full control of green packaging

1. Strengthen cleaner production and implement source control

The fundamental purpose of cleaner production based on the concept of circular economy is to carry out waste-free and waste-disposal production, achieve “zero emission” of pollution in the production process and green the manufacturing products. As far as the packaging field is concerned, producers are required to follow the principle of “reducing, reusing, and recycling” economic activities in the entire life cycle of packaging to minimize the environmental impact of packaging. In the “Packaging Law”, it should be clear that the production of packaging products requires the use of clean energy and raw materials, and the prohibition of the use of certain packaging materials in the form of legislation, such as packaging materials containing lead, mercury, etc.; Reusable packaging containers and materials. Clearly prohibit over-packaging or one-time use of packaging, as soon as possible to develop a "degree" quantitative standards for over-packaging, at the source of economic activities to pay attention to save resources and reduce pollution.

2. Promote the avoidance, reduction, and reuse of packaging waste, and realize the ecological recycling of packaging waste

In order to promote the recycling of packaging, many countries have established re-use laws, such as Japan's "New Waste Disposal Law", Germany's "Circular Economy Law" and "Avoid Packing Waste Act," requiring that printed materials be recycled Reuse the logo. Referring to other countries' legislative experience, the principle of avoidance, reduction, and reuse of packaging waste should be clearly defined in the “Packaging Law”, and the principle of “whoever is responsible for pollution and who develops and uses waste will be encouraged and supported” should be implemented. First of all, the “Packaging Law” stipulates that waste should be avoided, especially its quantity and toxicity. Secondly, it must recycle packaging waste or use it as available energy; the remaining packaging waste should be landfilled in an environmentally compatible manner. It is necessary to specify the packaging materials used by the packaging manufacturing enterprises. When they are discarded, they have the right recycling or appropriate disposal guarantee. When the toxic components of the products are too high to be handled and compatible with the environment, they cannot be allowed to enter the market. In addition, to expand producer responsibility, producers are not only responsible for the performance of the product, but also have the responsibility and responsibility for the entire life cycle of the packaging; the producers and sellers of the product should also bear the costs related to recycling.

(II) Strengthen the policy orientation of combining incentives and restrictions to promote the development of green packaging

The government should formulate preferential policies in industry, finance, credit, and taxation to support and encourage enterprises to develop green packaging. Specific measures include: (1) Take measures such as pollutant discharge charges, emissions permits, and environmental taxes to increase environmental pollution costs and internalize environmental costs. (2) Tax policies that vigorously promote environmental resources and compensate for resources shall adopt taxation measures for resource taxation for enterprises that severely waste resources and cause serious pollution. Resource taxes may be appropriately reduced or exempted for enterprises that conserve resources and have less pollution. (3) The use of clean production processes to produce products and less polluting, non-polluting products should be supported by economic policies, such as procurement through the government's procurement policies, procurement of environmentally friendly products of the company's products. (4) Through credit policy guidance, increase the scale of credit for enterprises, give discounted interest, and make it easier for enterprises with good environmental behavior to obtain credit. (5) Through preferential tax reduction and exemption policies, the import and export of raw materials and finished products shall be given preferential tariffs and quotas to minimize the cost of their products and promote enterprises to carry out clean production.

(III) Advocating enterprises to implement green packaging through industry self-discipline

Industry self-regulation is an indispensable part of promoting green packaging. The role of any system can only be fully realized when people consciously abide by it. Australian paint companies have signed an industry self-discipline agreement in order to alleviate the growing environmental pressures in society. According to the agreement, packaging containers for paints and coatings will be better reused, reducing the consumption of packaging raw materials and reducing packaging waste. This agreement has been highly praised by the government. The goal of the China Packaging Federation Circular Economy Committee is to establish a green packaging centered on the principles of “reduction, reuse, and recycling” in the packaging industry, focusing on efficient use of resources and recycling, and using clean production as an important means. The production, consumption, and recycling recycling system promotes the sustained, rapid, and healthy development of the packaging industry. On this basis, China's packaging industry associations should formulate industry norms based on the scientific concept of development and require companies to implement industry standards and technical specifications so as to achieve green packaging.

(D) Packaging companies must strengthen the concept of green management and actively participate in international certification

Packaging companies should implement the green concept into all management activities. First, they must actively carry out relevant green certification work and implement the ISO14000 international standard. The implementation of this series of standards has the dual role of protecting the environment and eliminating technical barriers to trade. Through the establishment and implementation of a certification system to achieve green production, the environmental impact and resource efficiency are comprehensively considered while ensuring the functionality, quality and cost of the product. Secondly, we must actively implement the system of environmental labeling products. Environmental labels are called “green permits” for entering the international market. At present, there are many countries and regions in the world that implement this system. The sign covers a wider range of products. The developed countries have established environmental signs and tend to be consistent and mutually recognize each other. China's packaging companies must further develop the environmental label of developed countries and obtain the pass for international product exports on the basis of the certification of environmental standards, so as to promote the development of green packaging in China.

(V) Strengthen the construction of green consumption system and cultivate green consumption concepts

Under the influence of the modern “economy-consumerism-hedonism” model, comparisons, extravagance, and wasted consumerism are still quite serious in society. Regarding consumers' purchase of green packaging products, the government has done more publicity, but relying only on people's consciousness is not enough to promote the consumption of green products, but also rely on the constraints of the system. We can learn from Japan’s “Environmental Product Purchase Law” and start with the government consumption aspect. Governments at all levels should take the lead in advocating the purchase and use of green packaging products that are conducive to protecting the environment, so as to provide the community with environmental protection information and support the production of environmentally friendly products. And marketing. At the same time, tax policies are used to restrict the consumption of relatively serious pollution, and the cost of the environment is included in consumption.