The global “plastic restriction order” is coming. What impact will it have on China?

From May 29 to June 2, 2023, more than 1,700 representatives from 169 member states and non-governmental organizations gathered at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The plastic issue has set off another global crisis. climax. This conference prepares for the development of a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution. This document has been hailed as the global “plastic restriction order”.

What exactly is this “plastic restriction order”?

This ban actually targets heavily polluting industries such as petrochemicals behind plastic products. Plastic is actually a petroleum product. It is a chemical petroleum product extracted from petroleum and coal. For example, polypropylene, polyester, and nylon are all plastics. Petroleum requires advanced refineries to enter the refining process. Through physical and chemical means such as heating, diversion, catalysis, and cracking, crude oil with mixed components is turned into standardized industrial products such as gasoline, diesel, and naphtha.

By chemically treating naphtha, a series of basic chemical products can be obtained, such as the bulk product ethylene. The synthetic resin material polyethylene formed by the treatment of ethylene is what everyone usually sees. of plastic. As for the magic drug ibuprofen, which is indispensable for pain relief and fever reduction, it is also chemically synthesized from ethylene.

Why “plastic restrictions”?

Let’s take the most common plastic bag to discuss this issue. Plastic bags have many advantages. They are cheap, and you won’t feel bad if you buy or throw them away. They also have large capacity, light weight, and are easy to store. They can be used in any occasion. However, seemingly affordable plastic bags also have many advantages. Big harm.

First, because plastic bags are chemical petroleum products extracted from petroleum or coal, it is difficult to degrade naturally once they are produced. Also buried underground for more than 200 years, we humans have long been left with only a rotten skeleton, but plastic bags are still well preserved and will not rot or degrade.

Second, if a large amount of waste plastic is buried underground, the permeability of the soil will be destroyed. causing soil. Gallstones can cause gallbladder, thus affecting the growth of plants. If animals accidentally eat plastic discarded in the wild, they will also die from this accidental eating.

Thirdly, plastic bags are used in large quantities and are not easy to recycle. Random discarding will cause serious consequences, and their flow into lakes and oceans may also cause marine pollution. However, concentrated plastic bags are also difficult to dispose of. If pits are dug and landfilled, a large amount of land resources will be occupied. However, incineration will reduce air quality.

In short, seemingly convenient plastic can bring a series of serious hazards. It is precisely because of the extremely long degradation cycle of plastic bags and the difficulty in handling them that some countries have banned their production and use.

As for this "plastic restriction", our country has actually already started.

In 2008, our country also issued a restriction on plastics. A paid use system for plastic shopping bags was implemented in all supermarkets, shopping malls, and bazaars. Plastic shopping bags were not allowed to be provided free of charge. The production, sale and use of plastic shopping bags with a thickness less than 0.025 mm is prohibited nationwide.

By 2025, hotels will no longer be allowed to provide any type of single-use plastic, and post offices will no longer be allowed to use any type of plastic packaging.

The global “plastic restriction order” is coming. What impact will it have on China?

1. Our traditional disposable plastic products industry will be impacted.

The global "plastic restriction order" will directly impact the plastic products industry, especially areas with high pollution and high consumption such as disposable plastic products. The new substitutes (degradable plastics) industry will usher in a big explosion

By 2025, my country's demand for degradable plastics is expected to be 2.38 million tons, and the market size will reach 47.7 billion yuan; by 2030, The demand is expected to be 4.28 million tons, and the market size can reach 85.5 billion yuan.

Relevant industry estimates indicate that the demand for degradable plastics in four areas, including express packaging, disposable plastic tableware, plastic shopping bags and agricultural mulch films, will total a market space of approximately 2.5 million tons in 2025, and the market size will reach 50 billion. Yuan or so.

2. The alternative materials industry will usher in rapid development.

Currently mature alternative materials use renewable resources such as wheat straw, corn stalks, and rice straw as raw materials to produce degradable materials that can replace disposable plastic products and film packaging products. They are widely used in bio-based energy, Materials, medicine and other industries and scenarios.

Of course, under the plastic restriction order, in addition to traditional degradable plastics, new materials will also take advantage of the situation to grow. In the apparel industry, the use of new processes and new materials has become a new fashion. Textile fabrics made from marine microorganisms, mushroom mycelium, fruit peels and other plant-based materials, to recycled materials such as plastic bottles and fishing nets, have begun to be used in the production of clothing accessories.

The environment is the home we rely on for survival. Protecting the environment is the responsibility of each of us. The "plastic restriction order" is very necessary. Plastic restriction starts with me.