Metallurgy / Chemicals / Rubber & Plastics

On the morning of August 16, the National Development and Reform Commission, together with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other 21 member departments and units of the special working mechanism for plastic pollution control, held a national video and telephone conference on plastic pollution control work in 2022, pointing out that it is necessary to scientifically and prudently promote source reduction and substitution, Vigorously promote standardized recycling, utilization and disposal, increase the normalized cleaning of rivers and lakes and seawater floating garbage, focus on solving problems in key areas such as agricultural film, takeaway, e-commerce, and express delivery, and deeply participate in global plastic pollution control.

Driven by relevant policies, the replacement rate of degradable plastics has risen rapidly, and the market demand has grown significantly.

Since the introduction of the "Plastic Restriction Order" policy in January 2020, degradable plastics have attracted market attention, especially in the context of the "double carbon" goal, degradable and environmentally friendly materials have become the focus of social attention. The development of new bio-based materials can effectively control "white pollution" and promote the construction of social ecological system, which is of great significance. Degradable plastic is one of the development directions of national strategic emerging industries, and the future market space is broad.

The policy release is good

The above meeting pointed out that it is necessary to scientifically and prudently promote source reduction and substitution, vigorously promote standardized recycling, utilization and disposal, increase efforts to normalize the cleaning of rivers, lakes and seawater floating garbage, and focus on solving problems in key areas such as agricultural film, takeaway, e-commerce, and express delivery. Deeply involved in global plastic pollution control.

With the upgrading of consumption and the rapid development of industries such as express delivery and takeaway, plastic has become a necessity in daily life. However, the consumption of plastics continues to increase, and the problem of environmental pollution has become increasingly apparent.

In recent years, relevant departments have issued policies to encourage the use and promotion of degradable plastics.

Previously, the "Biodegradable Drinking Straws" and "Biodegradable Plastics and Products Degradation Performance and Labeling Requirements" formulated and released by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Administration, two national standards in the field of degradable plastics since June 1, 2022 officially implemented.

On June 17, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Light Industry", which clearly stated that the development of new biomass materials, comprehensive Low-carbon technology development projects for biodegradable mulch and other materials and green product consumption of degradable materials.

From a regional perspective, on June 6, the Bengbu City Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Anhui Province issued the "Notice on Carrying out the Special Action for Plastic Pollution Control in 2022", and decided to carry out the market supervision field 2022 in the city from May to December this year. The special action for plastic pollution control in 2018; on June 14, the four departments of Lijiang Development and Reform Commission, Ecological Environment Bureau, Commerce Bureau, and Market Supervision Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Regulating the Production, Sales and Use of Plastic Products", which stipulates that the production and sales are prohibited. the type of plastic products, and prohibit or restrict the use of non-degradable plastic bags and disposable non-degradable tableware.

In addition, Jiangsu, Hainan, Shanxi and other places have also issued clear documents, advocating green and low carbon, and restricting and reducing the use of single-use plastic products.

The China Plastics Processing Industry Association believes that the biodegradable plastics industry will continue to receive strong support from policies, and the tightening of environmental protection policies in the plastics industry and the acceleration of high-end and green processes will continue to empower the development of biodegradable plastics. In the future, the steady advancement of policies such as "plastic ban, plastic restriction" and "two-carbon action" and the gradual improvement of residents' awareness of environmental protection will jointly promote the improvement of the industry's technical level and the optimization of the industry's industrial structure, and leading manufacturers with leading advantages will receive A more favorable development environment will further enhance the industry concentration.

Broad market space

According to data from Zhiyan Consulting, in 2021, the global annual production capacity of biodegradable plastics will be 1.553 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 26.57%, accounting for 64.25% of the global bioplastic production capacity. From the perspective of changes in market demand, from 2017 to 2021, the global production of bioplastics will show an increasing trend.

In 2021, the global production of bioplastics will be 2.4104 million tons, an increase of 17.67% in production capacity and 20.72% in production compared with 2017.

my country is a big plastic consumer, and plastic consumption accounts for 15%. Under the pressure of plastic pollution and the strong drive of policies, the replacement rate of degradable plastics has increased year by year. For the degradable plastic project, the planned new production capacity exceeds 10 million tons.

Relevant research reports pointed out that the total effective production capacity of degradable plastics in China is only about 250,000 tons.

my country is a big consumer of plastics, and the problem of "white pollution" is severe. Biodegradable plastics produced using PBAT are currently a mature alternative to new materials. Driven by domestic industrial policies, a large number of traditional plastic products will be replaced by clean, reliable and degradable plastic products. It is expected that by 2025, the domestic biodegradable plastics market will usher in rapid growth, forming a market scale of tens of billions.