The adoption of green packaging and the reduction of Plastic pollution are promoting the "green whirlwind" of food packaging. The reporter learned from the rPE project team seminar that in recent years, some leading enterprises in the industry have been exploring the high-value application of recycled materials in food contact materials, and recycled materials have become a "new favorite" in food packaging.
RPE helps greatly reduce Plastic pollution
Data shows that over 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally every year, of which one-third are only used once; Every day is equivalent to 2000 Garbage truck full of plastic dumping plastic into rivers, lakes and seas. There are also figures of plastic food contact materials among them.
Polyethylene (PE) is one of the three major food contact plastic packaging materials, and it is widely used in food packaging fields such as milk boxes and beverage cups. At present, the treatment of waste PE food contact materials mainly focuses on landfill and incineration, which brings problems such as resource waste and environmental pollution. In addition, the recycling rate of PE food contact materials after consumption is still not high, mainly based on single degradation rather than multiple recycling. Most PE plastic products have a corresponding decrease in their recycling value after degradation and recycling, making it impossible to achieve high value utilization and recycling.
Recently, at the rPE project team seminar organized by the Joint Working Group on Sustainable Development of Food Contact Materials (SFCM) at Shanghai Junshi Life Sciences Research Institute, experts and business representatives shared their research and experience on how to promote the high-value application of rPE.
RPE is a recycled polyethylene (PE) material, "said Zhong Huaining, director of the IQTC National Key Laboratory for Food Contact Material Testing (Guangdong)." Exploring the high-value application of PE recycled materials is of great significance in solving the problem of plastic food contact material waste pollution and promoting the green and sustainable development of the food contact material industry
On the one hand, the recycling and utilization of plastic food contact materials after consumption can reduce the dependence on raw plastics for petroleum production, reduce the consumption of natural resources, and bring economic benefits of resource conservation; On the other hand, the recycling and utilization of plastic food contact materials after consumption can significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste generated, alleviate the pressure and negative impact of plastic waste on the ecological environment.
In addition, compared to traditional plastic preparation processes, the recycling process of plastic food contact materials after consumption shortens the production and processing chain of plastic products, effectively reducing energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. According to statistics, currently, China recycles nearly 19 million tons of various types of plastics annually. While providing high-quality industrial raw materials, compared to using native resources, it can reduce approximately 45% of sewage discharge and 60-70% of energy consumption.
However, compared to recycled ethylene terephthalate (rPET), there is not much research and application of recycled polyethylene (rPE) in the field of food contact materials in the industry, especially the lack of research on its safety, environmental protection, and pollution reduction technology, which has become a major factor restricting the development of food grade rPE, Under the call and promotion of the industry, the Sustainable Development Working Group on Food Contact Materials established a dedicated rPE project team in 2022 |
