xunhuan
Increasingly urbanized societies and changing lifestyles are driving plastics to be used in a wide range of industries, including food and beverage, automotive, electrical and electronics, household appliances and healthcare.
It should come as no surprise that the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November 2022 announced that global plastic production has reached 400 million tonnes per year, and that this figure is expected to soar to 35 billion tonnes by 2050.
Plastic consumption (especially single-use plastics).
This poses a huge challenge to the environment.
The industry is sparing no effort to increase innovation.
to achieve a circular economy.
Achieve sustainable development.
The goal of the circular economy is to reduce the amount of plastic waste by adopting a closed-loop system that redesigns the process of acquiring, manufacturing, using, and reusing plastic products.
Research refers to 2050.
There will be more plastic in the ocean than there will be fish.
According to a World Bank report, the world generates about 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste every year, and the figure is expected to reach 3.5 billion tons by 2050; This is especially true in fast-growing regions, such as East Asia and the Pacific, where plastic waste will increase by 70 per cent. These regions must act quickly to slow the growth of plastic waste.
The circular economy highlights the importance of high-end technology. (*Alan MacArthur** will).
Another study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation suggests that by 2050, the ocean could contain about 93.7 billion tonnes of plastic, compared to only 89.5 billion tons. The outbreak of the new crown epidemic in 2020 pushed the use of disposable plastics by 300%.
These findings have prompted the plastics industry to take on an urgent task.
Urgent solutions need to be proposed.
to ease the burden on the planet.
The circular economy model is widely recognized as the best solution.
From linear to cyclical
Creating more sustainable solutions for plastic applications.
The plastics industry has traditionally adopted a linear model, i.e. take-use-dispose, where plastic products are put into use after production and then disposed of as waste, posing challenges to waste management and environmental protection.
The plastics industry is transitioning from a linear model to a circular economy model (**pexels).
The goal of the circular economy is to reduce plastic waste by adopting a closed-loop system that produces, uses and reuses plastics in a continuous circular process that prevents them from leaking into the environment. This is a recognized approach that addresses the core issues, in particular the disposal of single-use plastics, and redesigning the process of acquiring, manufacturing, using, and reusing plastic products to minimize plastic waste.
In the packaging industry, for example, as the main application of plastics, to reflect the circular economy in packaging, innovative production technologies and materials are required to ensure that plastic products are reusable, reusable or degradable. At the same time, companies need to take responsibility for the plastic packaging revolution to ensure that discarded items can be collected, recycled or degraded, or put back into the production process to make new products.
The goals of the circular economy include reducing the need for disposable packaging, switching to 100% reusable, ** or biodegradable items, and alleviating the problem of plastic waste.
A study by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore found that reusable plastic bags are actually more environmentally friendly than paper and cotton bags, but only in countries or cities with efficient waste management systems.
Strengthen the use of **.
Promote the use of materials.
The main goal of the circular economy is to increase the rate. Post-process waste and post-consumer waste should be reused through a first-class process. Technology is advancing in terms of speed, efficiency and cost savings.
Chemistry technology has attracted much attention in recent years.
This technology is able to break down plastics into structural units, transforming them into secondary raw materials that can be used to produce new raw materials.
Pyrolysis is an advanced technology that thermally decomposes materials at high temperatures in an inert gas, and this technology is gaining more and more attention and is considered to be an ideal method for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
For multi-layered plastics or heavily contaminated plastics, chemistry** is an ideal choice; Another advantage of this process is that it allows for the production of high-quality recycled raw materials.
For the first time, BSH uses packaging materials based on chemical** plastics. (*BASF).
For the first time, BSH Hausger TE GmbH uses BASF's Styropor as a packaging material, which is made from chemical** plastic waste and is used on specific large appliances of its luxury brand Gaggenau, without compromising protection during transport.
However, the mainstream plastic** technology is still mechanical**, which includes steps such as sorting, washing, crushing, grinding or pelletizing. Mechanical** technology is constantly improving and becoming more efficient, enabling the production of high-quality secondary materials.
Digitalisation, artificial intelligence and automation have helped to improve the efficiency of their operations, and many technology vendors have applied these technologies to their machinery.
The market for recycled plastics is promising, and recycling systems are constantly being upgraded to meet the growing demand.
The bottle-to-bottle process has reached a very high level, capable of processing used PET bottles into high-end RPET materials.
The bottle-to-bottle process has reached a very high level, which can process used PET bottles into high-end PET (RPET) materials, and then make environmentally friendly bottles made of 100% PET (RPET) materials.
In addition, bottle-to-bottle** already meets the high safety standards required for food packaging without the risk of contamination.
Another innovative project is the multi-layer flexible packaging technology, where multi-layer film production waste can now be 100% used.
Processing technology is moving towards the goal of circularity.
Under the general trend of circular economy, enterprises have invested a lot of money in research and development, and now injection molding systems, extrusion technologies and blow molding systems can support the processing of first-class materials.
Similarly, material solutions for improving the performance of recycled resins, such as additives and stabilizers, have been supporting the sustainability of the plastics industry.
Asia has adopted a circular economy strategy.
Tremendous opportunities.
The active adoption of the circular economy in the plastics industry has opened up new opportunities for technologies and environmentally friendly production systems that can handle materials, new materials containing substances or renewable raw materials, as well as business opportunities for manufacturers of plastic products. Manufacturers are trying to cater to market trends and consumer preferences by launching products that are environmentally friendly.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme**, the circular economy could generate an additional 4. per year by 2030$5 trillion in economic output.
The market for recycled plastic products is growing as consumers become more environmentally conscious. （*pexels）
Asian countries have begun to provide the necessary framework for the development of a circular economy.
Since the 90s, China has embarked on a circular economy journey and has become a leader in this area. One of these policies is the dual carbon goal, which aims to control carbon emissions to peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Today, China's strategy is driving the development of a circular economy – the specifics of promoting reduction and reuse are included in the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Circular Economy 2021-2025.
India has also taken a circular economy path, with policies and projects that could generate US$624 billion in annual revenue by 2050.
Southeast Asian countries are also adopting circular economy models, and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) adopted a development framework in October 2021 that will allow the plastics industry in the region to use the latest technologies in production systems to process materials more efficiently and produce new products.