PCR plastic management and use
- Will there be penalties for substandard use of PCR plastic?
Really!!!
According to the latest Plastic Recycling Update released by CalRecycle, Coca Cola, Pepsi and other large beverage brands met California‘s requirements last year, that is, to use post consumer recycled resin PCR resin with a content of 15% in bottles.
However, in California, only 38 companies have met or exceeded the California requirement for the use of 15% post consumer recycled plastics (PCR), 160 companies have failed to meet the 15% target, 10 companies claim not to have used any plastic in containers, and 393 companies have not reported data to regulatory agencies at all.
California regulations require penalties to be imposed on companies that fail to meet PCR usage standards in 2023 starting from March 1, 2024. Penalties will be calculated at a rate of 20 cents per pound based on the insufficient content of recycled ingredients compared to the minimum standard requirements.
- Management policies for PCR plastics in other countries
In addition, in November 2020, the UK Taxation and Customs released a draft legislation on plastic packaging tax, which clearly stated that plastic packaging tax should be levied: when recycled materials are less than 30%, taxes need to be paid.
Australia has set a plastic packaging target in the Directive on Reducing the Environmental Impact of Specific Plastic Products: by 2025, 50% of recycled materials will be included in all packaging, with plastic packaging containing 20% of recycled materials.
In 2019, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU 2019/904) clearly stated that as of 2025, the proportion of recycled plastic in some PET containers in member countries is over 25%. By 2030, some beverage bottles will contain at least 30% recycled plastic.
- China‘s Plastic Control Policy
In China, there is currently no clear legal requirement for the punishment of PCR plastic usage content standards, but management measures for the standardized use of disposable plastics have also been implemented.
On May 16th this year, the Ministry of Commerce and the Development and Reform Commission issued the "Management Measures for the Use and Reporting of Disposable Plastic Products by Business Operators" (hereinafter referred to as the "Management Measures"). The "Management Measures" clearly stipulate that five types of operators, including retail, e-commerce, catering, accommodation, and exhibition, shall comply with the relevant national regulations prohibiting and restricting the use of disposable plastic products such as non degradable plastic bags.
Among them, there are two punitive measures in Chapter 4 "Legal Responsibility" of the Management Measures:
Article 25: If business operators in the field of commerce fail to comply with the national regulations on prohibited and restricted use, the local commerce authorities at or above the county level shall order them to make corrections within a prescribed time limit. If they fail to make corrections within the prescribed time limit, they shall be fined not less than 10000 yuan but not more than 100000 yuan.
Article 26: In violation of the provisions of Article 16, Article 17, Article 18, Paragraphs 1 and 2, and Article 19 of these Measures, if the establishment unit of a commodity retail venue, e-commerce platform (including delivery platform) enterprise, or delivery enterprise fails to report the use of disposable plastic products in accordance with these Measures, the local commerce department at or above the county level shall order it to make corrections within a time limit, and if it fails to make corrections within a time limit, Impose a fine of not less than 10000 yuan but not more than 100000 yuan.
From the perspective of the Chinese plastic industry as a whole, the scope of regulations for disposable plastic products is already relatively broad, covering almost all aspects of life. It is not difficult to see that the "Management Measures" also release a clear signal: in the future, the use of plastic will become increasingly green and standardized. PCR plastic, as an environmentally friendly material, is also likely to make specific standardized management in the future, similar to California.
Looking at the regulatory policies on plastics both domestically and internationally, the intensity of regulation is constantly increasing, with a more obvious tendency towards recycled plastics. However, how to improve the quality of recycled plastics and expand market space may still be a thorny issue. Of course, with the specific implementation of corresponding regulations, this series of problems may be resolved in the near future.
Despite the increasing policy supervision, many domestic and foreign chemical enterprises have also stepped up the layout of the renewable industry. For example, LG Chem, Lotte, SK Chemical and other well-known enterprises have increased the production scale of renewable plastics by expanding the factory scale and production lines.
As a major country in plastic products, China will have a larger market space for recycled plastics in the future Topcentral® Speaking of it, seizing opportunities is now at the forefront Topcentral® The six major development strategies include recyclable technology and processing, biochemical new materials, intelligent equipment, intelligent technology (artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, cloud data services, big data, algorithms, 5G, Internet of Things, etc.), cutting-edge manufacturing, and functional professional platforms as the main carriers, continuously upgrading the industry, overcoming difficulties, meeting the challenges brought by globalization, and promoting sustainable low-carbon development of the industry.
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