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 protection legislation, Europe has always been at the forefront of the world, the German Packaging Act 1991, the Dutch Packaging Convention, the 1992 Austrian Packaging Regulations, the 1993 European Environmental Regulations EM AS, and France. Packaging Act, Belgium's National Ecological Law, France's "Packaging Waste Transport Act" in 1994, Austria's "Regulations for the Implementation of Packaging Law", Germany's "Circular Economy Law and Waste Law" in 1995, and Britain's "In 1996" The “Packaging Waste Regulations” and other laws and regulations came out first, echoing with Europe, and the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Brazil, Colombia and other countries and regions have also formulated relevant laws and regulations for packaging. In 1993, Japan introduced the "Recycling Resources Utilization Promotion Law." In 1997, the "Packaging Container Recycling Law" was announced. In the United States, by 1999, 45 states had formulated over 200 recycling and reuse regulations such as 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. A circular pattern consisting of green and white arrows. The upper text consists of German DERGRUNE PUNKT, 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, etc. The country also began to implement environmental labels for product packaging, such as Canada’s Maple Leaf Pigeon, Japan's "Love the Earth", America's "Natural Friendly" and Certificate System, China's "Environmental Protection Mark", European Community's "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. Countries around the world have also formulated green product labels, but the names of eco-labels vary from country to country, the US’s “EPA mark” and Canada’s “EV system”. , Japan's "ecological standard system", France's "NF environment" and so on. Currently the world's more successful application of ecological signs are Germany's "Blue Angel" (BLUE ANGEL) and Japan's "ECO MARK" (ECO MARK). Many countries have implemented eco-labeling programs and eco-labels have become more and more familiar to consumers.

2. Establish a system for storing and retrieving:

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 Developed countries such as Germany, Japan, and France 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 bring about adverse effects. First, the “Recycling and Recycling of Packaging Containers Act” was introduced, which prohibits the use of disposable beer and beverage containers, and prohibits the import of beer and beverages packaged in such containers. In June 1990, the European Communist Party The conference was held in Dublin to put forward the idea of ​​“full protection of the environment” and the “Waste Transport Law” was enacted, which stipulates that packaging waste cannot 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 PVC bottles used for beverages to PET bottles. 80% of PET bottles are recycled, renewable resources are available, and they are classified for recycling. Given that packaging waste is a major problem in environmental pollution, countries are trying to recycle and recycle packaging waste, and recycling is used to collect and collect German packaging waste. It is very good, not only recycling a large amount of useful materials, but also using waste incineration to generate energy, but also reduce environmental pollution. Finland and Japan attach great importance to the recycling of paper packaging recycling, etc. These all show that on the one hand, The development of good environmentally-friendly packaging products, on the one hand, makes good use of the renewable resources of waste packaging, which is an important task that packaging companies cannot ignore.

3. Implement tax incentives or penalties and other measures:

Since the implementation of the "plastics tax" by the Irish Ministry of the 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. Irish plastic tax regulations impose a taxation of 15 baht per Plastic Bag. With a view to reducing the number of plastic bags used by consumers, most of the 1.2 billion plastic bags distributed by Irish merchants in 2001 were actually scattered on the streets and hanged on treetops or fences. Therefore, the government decided to impose a plastic tax to eliminate environmental pollution. Since the plastic tax took effect, the consumption of plastic bags has decreased by more than 95%. Most consumers prefer to maximize the reuse of existing plastic bags or recyclable plastic bags. A spokesman for the Irish Ministry of Environment pointed out: "Ireland is the world The only country that has implemented such a mechanism, but our experience has caused 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, it is easy to regenerate, multi-layer structure of the composite material must be considered easy to separate does not prevent re-use, such as aluminum beverage surface coating organic coating, in the recovery of melting organic paint can be burned will not give Recycling is difficult, and composite paper and plastic packaging is difficult to separate for purification. It is a package designed for recycling use. Recyclable packaging materials can save resources and reduce 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 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 cause any waste. Japan has developed a shell-like substance that can be used as an edible wrapping paper. This type of edible packaging paper can be directly cooked in a hotpot, and it is convenient to use edible packaging. Consumption of consumer life, but also avoid packaging waste pollution the environment, it is worth promoting.

In recent years, increasing packaging waste has exerted considerable pressure on environmental protection. According to statistics, the amount of municipal solid waste was increasing in the 1990s. In 1995, the amount of waste was 150 million tons, of which packaging waste was accounted for. 50% of urban waste volume and 33% of weight have become a headache for governments across the world. Western developed countries are under pressure from resource crisis and pollution prevention and control to pay attention to and develop “green packaging” and recycle packaging materials. Utilizing the industry that has been formed in developed countries in Europe and the United States, the experience and practices of its system are worthy of our reference. China is a developing country and its per capita resource occupancy rate is much lower than that of developed countries. It is necessary and responsible to place the issue of “green packaging” on important issues. From the perspective of recyclable packaging materials, facilitation of treatment, and reduction of pollution, we have begun research and development of new green packaging materials and strengthened legislation to strengthen environmental protection so as to facilitate sustainable development in the 21st century.

Yang Daoling, School of Arts, Central South University

Source: China Packaging 2005/3