The future disposable plastic packaging industry will face tremendous changes

The impact of disposable packaging is huge. In the trillion-dollar global plastics market, disposable packaging accounts for approximately 45%. Only 14% of plastic packaging is recycled and reused. Recycling and sustainability issues have been debated for many years in North America and Europe. China has banned the import of waste plastics since 2017, which has revived controversy and made environmental issues more urgent. China's recycling industry accounted for about half of global trade at its peak. When China banned the import of waste plastics last year, the price of waste plastics in the international market fell into a trough, and piles of waste products were looking for new outlets.China's plastic ban has accelerated the process of banning and restricting the use of single-use plastics in countries around the world, and similar restrictions have also caused a series of chain reactions. For example, the American Chemistry Council Plastics Association urged that all plastic packaging must be recyclable by 2040. Europe requires all plastic packaging to be recyclable or recyclable by 2030.The results of a study show that the demand for degradable polymer materials will increase by 9% annually from the 335,000 tons in 2017 in the next five years. The ability of polymer materials to reduce carbon emissions will increase the public's acceptance of the materials, and their carbon credits can offset their high costs. Consumer habits and legislation will also help people accept higher cost polymer materials. At present, there are 1 million tons of biodegradable plastic production capacity in the world, but obviously this is far from enough.

The report also proposes plant-based raw materials as another solution, especially PET bottles. Plant-based raw materials promote sustainable development and ensure that PET can compete with traditional materials in performance. The Coca-Cola Company is convinced of this, and plans to use this material in all Coke bottles by 2020. In 2015, the proportion was only 30%.

Researchers believe that the merger of the packaging industry is also conducive to the competition of plastics. Large companies are more able to develop new packaging solutions, and manufacturing and transportation efficiency will also increase. Mergers generally reduce costs, especially the cost of resin procurement, which accounts for 50% of the cost of plastic packaging products.