When most beverages packed in sterile paper and milk are thrown into the bin after being drunk, people who discarded them may not have thought that these obscure waste packagings, which are often considered as garbage, will not only It is one of the rice bowls that the scavengers rely on to make a living, and it is enough to feed an industry.

Recover the status quo

Misplaced resources

It is estimated that in 2006 China's carton packaging market exceeded 20 billion, of which Tetra Pak used 18 billion, and by 2010, Tetra Pak's aluminum consumption will have reached 28,000 tons.

Discarded and eventually landfilled or incinerated in landfills, it is almost the ultimate fate of most domestic sterile paper packaging. However, in the eyes of the resource recovery and recycling industry, these waste packaging is entirely a kind of "misplaced resources." As an example, Tetra Pak's aseptic paper packaging, which occupies 90% of the Chinese aseptic packaging industry's market share, consists of 6 layers consisting of 4 polyethylene plastic film layers, 1 paper fiber layer and 1 aluminum foil layer. The process can produce recycled products such as recycled paper, plastics and aluminum products.

According to Ren Wei, an environmental engineer at Tetra China Ltd., the recycling technology of Tetra Pak is mainly divided into three categories: one is to shred waste packaging directly, and then heat-pressed to make a color plate for manufacturing. Trash cans and other products; one is to separate waste packaging into pulp and aluminum plastic pulp through hydraulic pulping, pulp is used to produce recycled paper products, while aluminum plastic is used to produce aluminum and plastic products; there is also a kind of waste packaging. Milling extrusion is used to produce plastic-wood products such as flooring, industrial pallets, etc.

Each Tetra Pak's sterile paper package weighs about 10 grams. The contents of paper, aluminum foil and plastic are 7.5 grams, 0.5 grams and 2 grams, respectively, due to the rapid growth of the beverage and dairy industry and Tetra Pak in the aseptic packaging industry. The absolute advantage of the annual total amount of discarded packaging is an astonishing figure. According to relevant data, in 2005, the global carton packaging market reached 145 billion, of which Tetrapack had about 115 billion. In China's carton packaging market, the total packaging volume in 2004 reached 15 billion, of which Tetra Packaging exceeded 12 billion. One.

Regeneration attempts

Beijing started Tetra Pak recycling

On January 5th, Tetra Pak and Beijing Joint Open Source Resource Recycling Co., Ltd. jointly launched the recycling of milk beverage paper packaging in Beijing.

According to Li Zhixin, deputy general manager of the joint open source executive office, about 12,000 tons of discarded milk beverage paper packaging is produced each year in Beijing, and the value is about 7.8 million yuan, based on the market's recycling price. However, most of the waste packaging is now delivered with household waste. Into the landfill. From October to December 2005, the company conducted pilot recovery in some communities in Beijing. Within two months, the total volume of Tetra Pak recycled packaging reached more than 8,000 kilograms, of which the highest individual recovery amount of scavengers reached more than 600 kilograms.

It is understood that, after the joint open source will be recycled through the recyclers, community cleaners, social scavengers, hotels, schools and other ways to recycle Tetra Pak. Yang Bin, director of corporate communications at Tetra Pak, said that in the future, Tetra Pak will promote the recycling model nationwide.

Cyclical dilemma

Insufficient raw materials for reproduction

"At present, the recovery rate of China's entire packaging products is less than 20% of the total, which is far lower than the average recovery rate of 50%-60% in developed countries." The relevant person of the China Packaging Association said in an interview with reporters.

The sheer volume of waste packaging makes them sufficient to feed the recycled product companies that use them as raw materials. In foreign countries, the recycling of Tetra Pak has been used for decades. The ratio of recycling and recycling is increasing year by year. In 2005, the packaging of waste beverages in Europe reached 200,000 tons. In China, a recycled product packaging company using Tetra Pak began to appear in 2002. At last year's China Packaging Show, Tetra Pak exhibited recycled products produced using discarded Tetra Pak.

"The main problem facing these (domestic) recyclable companies is the lack of raw materials," Ren said. The reporter learned that a Shanghai company can dispose of 10,000 tons of discarded packaging each year, but in fact it only handles 1,000 tons of Tetra Pak every year. This part of Tetra Pak comes from the scraps of Tetra Pak's packaging line. Ren Wei also stated that Tetra Pak's scrap material does provide a considerable source of raw materials for similar companies. In addition, manufacturers can only buy scattered products from the scavengers or waste collection stations, which is time-consuming and laborious, but it weakens the economics of recycled products.

data

Tetra Pak Packaging is a 6-layer composite paper package in which about 75% of the ingredients are high-quality long-fiber pulp, which is a premium raw material for recycled paper.

Reprinted from: China Waste Product Network