The hottest pesticide packaging waste is difficult

Pesticide packaging waste refractory degradable materials have great prospects

release date: Source: plastic mechanical finishing release

on September 27, China's Ministry of agriculture and rural affairs and the Ministry of ecological environment organized the drafting of carbon fiber car bodies that can be used for automobiles, "pesticide packaging waste recycling and treatment management measures (Exposure Draft)" began to solicit public opinions

in fact, the recycling of pesticide packaging has always been in a somewhat embarrassing situation. Different from the product packaging used in our daily life, pesticide packaging belongs to toxic waste and needs special treatment. However, many farmers habitually discard pesticide packaging containers into the natural environment such as fields and rivers, which pollutes the soil, water, air and other environments. Therefore, the pollution of pesticide packaging waste has become a heart disease in environmental pollution

at present, the pesticide packaging sold in the domestic market is mainly made of glass, plastic, metal and paper plastic, of which plastic packaging accounts for the largest proportion, accounting for more than 50% of the pesticide packaging industry. These plastic packages are usually in the form of plastic bottles, plastic bags, plastic and aluminum foil flexible packaging, and use ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer, polyethylene terephthalate and other materials to obtain better barrier properties. But the headache is that the recycling and decomposition of this kind of packaging is very difficult

for the packaging of this kind of multi-layer high barrier materials and aluminum foil laminated structure embedded with polyethylene (PE) layer, reasonable recycling is necessary to involve the separation of different materials in each layer. And for pesticide packaging, it also involves harmless treatment and other steps. In China, there are not many enterprises qualified to deal with pesticide packaging waste, and the cost is dozens or even hundreds of times higher than that of conventional plastic treatment, which is also a test for the financial pressure of relevant enterprises and local governments with low export unit price of extruders

the administrative measures of the Ministry of environmental protection and the Ministry of agriculture on publicly soliciting the recycling and treatment of pesticide packaging waste, but the quality of metal raw materials has a considerable impact on the effect of electroplating treatment (Exposure Draft), previously issued by China, put forward clear requirements for pesticide packaging: the state encourages pesticide producers to use packaging that is easy to recycle, dispose of or degradable in the environment, Eliminate aluminum foil packaging, and encourage pesticide enterprises to use high-capacity packaging for new agricultural business entities

it can be seen that China is advocating the use of degradable packaging materials, but due to the strong advantages of plastic aluminum foil composite packaging, there is still no ideal material to replace it, and the non mandatory management has poor results. However, the opinion draft released this time mentioned that pesticide producers and operators should fulfill the corresponding obligations of recycling pesticide packaging waste in accordance with the principle of "who produces, who supplies and operates in spot, and who recycles". Pesticide business operators shall set up pesticide packaging waste recycling devices at their business premises, and shall not reject the packaging waste of pesticides they sell

tightening the recycling policy of pesticide packaging waste has virtually put forward restrictions on the operation of manufacturers and dealers. When enterprises can afford the work of pesticide packaging recycling, it will be their expectation to reduce the difficulty of packaging recycling, which is in line with the trend of vigorously advocating degradable packaging materials in China

"the state should encourage pesticide producers to use packaging materials that are easy to be comprehensively utilized and disposed of, water-soluble polymer packaging materials or degradable high-capacity packaging materials, and phase out small packaging bags that are not easy to dispose such as aluminum foil and plastic." Shan Zhengjun, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences of the Ministry of ecological environment, once said so

in fact, in the research and development of new pesticide packaging, many enterprises at home and abroad have gone from research and development to application. For example, the application of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) provides a basis for the promotion of soluble plastic packaging. For example, when applied to the inner packaging bag of water-soluble pesticides, it can be dissolved with pesticides as a whole, so that pesticides do not contact the outer packaging, thereby reducing the cost of pesticide packaging and disposal. This kind of material can also be used in the production of garbage bags, shopping bags, hospital laundry bags and other products. It can be degraded in nature without damaging soil and water sources, especially in response to marine pollution

conclusion

in recent years, China has paid more and more attention to the pollution of pesticide packaging waste. Under the requirements of advocating the use of recyclable materials and degradable packaging, through previous policy adjustments, the requirements for the recycling of pesticide packaging have been gradually implemented to the production and sales enterprises, which also indirectly promoted the realization of harmless and easy recycling of pesticide packaging in the future

it is noteworthy that at present, the technology of new water-soluble plastics is still upgrading, and the high price of raw materials is a stumbling block to restrict its expansion and application. It is believed that with the support of national policies and the general trend of environmental protection, the performance and cost performance of this new material will be further improved, so as to protect the environment and benefit mankind more

reference: Science and technology, Guangzhou, China's circular economy, chemical customs declaration weekly