Metallurgy / Chemicals / Rubber & Plastics

193 countries have produced about 8 million tons of plastic waste related to the new crown epidemic, of which about 26,000 tons have now entered the global ocean.

This study, published this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is one of the first studies to quantify the scale of plastic waste related to the epidemic. Opportunities are highlighted.

u3000u3000Can these plastic waste be recycled? What are the economic benefits and market prospects of recycled plastics? Under the "dual carbon" target, how has the supply chain's demand for recycled plastics changed? Can the carbon reduction value brought about by regeneration make the regeneration industry more popular?

u3000u3000The economic account of plastic recycling

“Many organizations want to do the green recycling of masks, but because of the medical risks involved, the recycling process is complicated. At present, it rarely enters the recycling channel." Jiang Nanqing, secretary general of the Green Recycling Special Committee of China Environmental Protection Federation, told No.1 Financial reporter, the recycling of epidemic-related masks is much more troublesome than the general recycling of disposable plastics. In particular, the epidemic-related materials after use in hospitals must be burned in a centralized manner in accordance with the treatment of medical waste.

u3000u3000 In addition to the recycling process and processing technology, the feasibility of plastic recycling also depends on economic considerations or market choices.

u3000u3000Wang Yonggang, secretary general of the Recycling Plastics Branch of China Material Recycling Association, told China Business News that in theory all plastics can be recycled, but it depends on the cost and whether it is economical. If the cost of recycling is much higher than the price of the material, there will be no market.

According to data provided by Ji Junhui, director of the National Engineering Research Center for Engineering Plastics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, only about 35% of the hundreds of millions of tons of plastic waste in the world are recycled every year, about 12% are incinerated or cracked, and more than half are in nature. Accumulation, including 46% on land or landfill and 7% flowing into the ocean.

With the increasing emphasis on recycled materials by the global consumer market and brand owners, and the promotion of China’s “dual carbon” goal, the market demand for recycled plastics has grown rapidly in recent years, and it has also gained a stronger economy from the rise in raw material prices. power.

u3000u3000 "The main motivation for everyone to use recycled materials is to save costs." Wang Yonggang said that under normal circumstances, recycled materials will still be cheaper than new materials. In the period of soaring raw materials, the enthusiasm of recycled plastic processing enterprises will be further improved.

Pan Lumin, president of the Asia-Pacific region of the global chemical giant Huntsman's polyurethane business unit, previously told China Business News that in the polyester polyol plant officially put into operation in Taiwan, China in May last year, 60% of the product ingredients are derived from recycled PET (polyterephthalate). Glycol formate) material. In the period when the price of raw materials fluctuates sharply, compared with similar products, this new low-carbon product has good fire resistance, so it can reduce the proportion of flame retardant added in insulation materials. In addition, the price of recycled materials is relatively stable. The overall price has a more controllable advantage.

u3000u3000 But as the price of raw materials rises, the market price of recycled materials is also rising.

u3000u3000 The recycled plastic pellet price index issued by the Recycled Plastics Branch of the China Material Recycling Association shows that in October 2021, the average value of the recycled plastic price index is 909.5 points, reaching the highest point since 2020.

Soochow Institute proposed that the European Union, the United States and other regions have issued relevant regulations to clarify that, as one of the most common plastic components in the world, disposable beverage containers with PET as the main component need to add the minimum use ratio and corresponding realization of recycled plastics. The number of years, so in the future, the demand for such "bottle-to-bottle" homogenization and high value-added utilization will expand rapidly, thus opening up a broad market space for the recycling of waste plastics.

u3000u3000 In July this year, the American Chemical Society (ACC) proposed that Congress pass a national standard for recycled plastics, requiring the adoption of the "National Standard for Recycling Plastics", and by 2030, all plastic packaging must use at least 30% recycled materials.

u3000u3000 Under this trend, more and more international brands have begun to show their preference for recycled materials in purchasing. High-end recycled materials are also sold at higher prices than new materials of the same quality because of their social value and higher environmental costs.

"China's current recycling traceability system is not perfect. Therefore, in the price inversion, companies also use new materials to pretend to be recycled materials, but they can get higher prices and higher recognition from brand owners." Jiang Nanqing said. .

u3000u3000 There is huge room for improvement in the recycling of waste plastics on a global scale. Wang Yonggang said that the recycling rate of waste plastics in China is at a high level globally, exceeding 30%, while the recycling rate of waste plastics in the United States is about 10%, and that in Japan is only about 20%. After China stopped the import of “foreign garbage”, the pattern of “localized treatment” of global solid waste became more and more obvious.

u3000u3000 As the foreign recycling system is relatively mature, after prohibiting the import of "foreign garbage", many Chinese companies choose to "go out" to find renewable raw materials.

Fan Yushun, executive vice chairman of the Plastics Recycling Special Committee of the China Plastics Association, told China Business News that about 2,000 factories in China had imported foreign plastic waste. After the import of “foreign waste” was banned, one-third of them changed their jobs, and one-third of them were changed. When relocated overseas, one third of them are engaged in domestic waste plastic recycling. Nowadays, with the improvement of environmental protection policies, the overall industry is developing from decentralization and low-value to high-value and centralization, and the threshold is increasing. “The enterprises with a production capacity of more than 10,000 tons belong to entry-level enterprises, and those with a production capacity of more than 30,000 tons are entry-level companies. The ones that belong to the medium-sized enterprises, the ones with more than 100,000 tons belong to the large-scale backbone enterprises. Due to the lack of financial strength, small enterprises are already difficult to enter in the face of the current environmental protection policies."

u3000u3000 Fan Yushun is also one of the business owners who "go out". As the Japanese waste plastic recycling industry began to rely entirely on local recycling and processing, Fan Yushun shut down domestic factories, went to Japan to establish a special plastic factory, and then exported the processed recycled plastic products to China. Although due to the epidemic, the lack of front-line production staff has led to a decline in output, the factory is still operating normally and has good benefits, and the market segment in which it is located is also showing a situation in which demand exceeds supply.

u3000u3000According to Fan Yushun’s observation, nearly half of the recycled plastics China needs are imported from abroad, most of which come from overseas recycling factories of Chinese companies. In terms of recycling technology, China is the most mature and advanced in the world.

u3000u3000Wang Yonggang said that from the perspective of the domestic recycled plastics market, low-end production capacity is currently overcapacity, and high-end production capacity is clearly in short supply.

u3000u3000 "Double Carbon" blows new air out

u3000u3000 This year's hot "dual carbon" concept has opened up new outlets for the regeneration industry.

u3000u3000 Zhejiang Yingruite Recycling Material Technology Co., Ltd. began to recycle marine waste plastics in 2016, that is, recycling waste fishing nets produced by fishery activity participants into textile materials. The company’s R&D director Hu Pengyan told CBN that since the end of 2019, my country has clearly put forward the “dual carbon” goal. They can clearly feel that the entire market’s recognition of recycled materials is increasing. At present, the company and domestic and foreign apparel brands have The cooperation is also expanding the scale of production, and it is expected that the production capacity will increase nearly three times in the next three years.

Hu Pengyan said that compared with the traditional scattered waste recycling model, the company's current recycling method has the characteristics of industrialization and modernization, and must ensure that the application scenarios, employee benefits and social responsibilities are met, and the cost is 30%-40% higher than that of the traditional model. %. Therefore, their own economic power is not enough right now, and the market brought about by the overall consciousness change of the consumer market and supply chain is a greater opportunity they see.

u3000u3000 According to Hu Pengyan, their recycled materials are mainly supplied to domestic manufacturers, but the end products are mainly sold overseas.

For renewable companies, in addition to economic power, the promotion of China’s “dual carbon” goal and the low-carbon trend of the global supply chain have allowed them to clarify the direction of the transition to higher value, and they are also looking forward to the penetration zone of carbon trading. Give them tangible benefits.

u3000u3000 On September 15, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "14th Five-Year Plan" Plastic Pollution Control Action Plan to strengthen the recycling of waste plastics and clearly encourage the use of waste plastics at the same level and with high added value.

“Some high-value recycled plastics certified by European and American countries are more expensive than new materials, but international companies are also willing to purchase more expensive recycled materials in order to meet the minimum requirements of the local government and avoid disposal fees." Fan Yushun said that there is market demand. , In order to promote the application of recycled materials.

Jiang Nanqing also pointed out that more and more brands have put forward their own "zero carbon" goals, and 80% of the brand's carbon emissions are indirect emissions. Therefore, it is necessary to promote carbon emission reduction in the front-end supply chain and back-end consumption to promote More recycling companies have entered their supply chain.

"In the recycling and recycling industry of waste plastics, there are no obstacles to recycling technology. What needs to be done is the front-end packaging design and the back-end recycling." Jiang Nanqing said, among which, standardized products should be made in product packaging, and composite materials and materials should be improved. The use of color, reduce excessive packaging, in order to achieve more efficient regeneration.

u3000u3000According to calculations, the production of one ton of new plastics has about 5.5 to 6 tons of carbon emissions, while recycled plastics can reduce carbon emissions by about half. Can such carbon reduction show value through carbon trading? At present, the China Plastics Processing Industry Association is making quantitative standards for carbon reduction of different types of recycled plastics to promote the upgrading of the recycling industry.