According to the beautiful news of the rich, a few days ago, the Korea Ministry of Environment signed a 'Spontaneous Recycling and Simple Packaging Agreement' with 19 companies in South Korea. This agreement aims to promote the recycling of resources and reduce environmental pollution caused by packaging materials.
Earlier, the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea formulated the "First Phase Product Recycling Evaluation Plan (2018~2020)" in accordance with the "Basic Law for Resource Recycling." It is expected that colorless cosmetics will be used next year, and the usage rate of beverage plastic bottles will increase substantially. The agreement is expected to be implemented from June 2018 until it is completed; in 2018, the use rate of colorless plastic bottles such as cosmetics and beverages is expected to surpass 63.5% in 2016 and increase to 85.1%.
It is reported that the 19 companies that signed the agreement as obligatory recycling and production enterprises (according to 2016) accounted for 55% of the total exported volume of plastic bottles in South Korea (26 million tons). The companies that signed this agreement include cosmetics, drugs , Dairy products, beverages and other fields. Among them, cosmetics as a bottled container of consumer goods category bear the brunt of it, South Korea's cosmetics company Amore Pacific, LG life and health, Aekyung industry have signed the agreement.
According to the agreement, by 2019, these companies will improve the material and structure of packaging according to different product types. Cosmetics, mineral water and other products will consciously use colorless and transparent plastic bottles for recycling. In addition, besides beer and other types of products To ensure product quality, companies may use brown or green plastic bottles as necessary.
In addition to colors, paper labels that increase recycling costs for plastic bottles will also be restricted. By 2020, materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that are difficult to recycle will also be replaced by easily recycled plastic bottles and other materials. Each year, the contracted companies make detailed plans. Based on the characteristics of different products, they actively tap materials and structures that are easy to recycle.
In the minimalist, natural winds prevailing today, transparent and colorless plastic bottles that take simple routes not only allow consumers to clearly see the container's contents, but also have environmental effects, or will receive a lot of consumer support.
Li Daoyang, general manager of Guangzhou Li Kee Packaging Co., Ltd., told the “Cosmetic Caijing Online” reporter: 'Implementing colorless and transparent packaging has increased the convenience of plastic recycling. Colored plastic bottles are relatively low in recycling rate and their use is also limited. In addition, in the production process, colorless and transparent products do not need to be colored, and production is also more convenient.
When it comes to plastic bottles, people associate it with the words 'environment' and 'pollution' for the first time. Indeed, plastic products have once become a challenge for environmental protection. Its use is extremely broad, covering all aspects of our lives. Cosmetics as a fast-moving consumer goods are undoubtedly a major source of plastic bottle production. Many brands choose to start with product packaging in order to attract consumers' attention. A variety of plastic bottles have also emerged. But there are also many companies Progress towards environmental protection, such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, etc., More environmentally friendly 'Marine plastics', 'Recycled plastics', etc. have been developed.
The reporters found out that the production of transparent and colorless cosmetic plastic bottles is usually made of PET plastic, which is environmentally friendly and non-toxic, but at a slightly higher price than other materials. Colored plastics generally use plastic colorants 'masterbatch' to color plastics. As the most common coloring method at the moment, when masterbatch gives more color to the product, it also affects the plastic performance and increases the cost of the product.
According to the “New Plastics Economics” report, at present, only 14% of plastic packaging in the world is recycled, and effective recycling is only 10%. However, cosmetics have a long life cycle, low added value, empty bottles are often mixed with domestic garbage and also cause sorting and recycling. Difficulties, the road to recycling plastics still has a long way to go.
'Implementation of colorless and transparent packaging, to strengthen the recycling of resources starting point is gratifying.' Li Daoyang said: 'But in the context of the whole, cosmetics packaging market in the total category of packaging accounted for only a fraction of the total. Such actions related to the global environment need to be promoted by the entire society to achieve the desired results.