At the end of this year, plastic straws to "" out "", it will gradually withdraw from the historical stage of the catering industry, and consumers say ""goodbye"". According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the ""Opinions on Further Strengthening the control of plastic pollution"", which stipulates that by the end of 2020 , the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws will be prohibited in the catering industry nationwide.

""Opinions"" in accordance with the principle of ""prohibiting a batch, replacing a batch of circulation and standardizing a batch"", divided into three time periods of 2020, 2022 and 2025, and made clear the phased task objectives of strengthening plastic pollution control. That is:

By the end of 2020, the national catering industry will prohibit the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws; Food and beverage services in built-up areas and scenic spots in cities above prefecture level will be prohibited from using non-degradable disposable plastic tableware.

By the end of 2022, the use of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware will be prohibited in catering services in built-up areas and scenic spots of counties.

By 2025, the consumption intensity of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware in the field of food and beverage takeout in cities at or above the prefecture level will be reduced by 30%.

From September 1 this year, the state will implement the ""Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by solid waste"", and those who do not comply with the state's prohibition and restriction of the use of non-degradable plastic bags and other disposable plastic products will be fined 10,000 to 100,000 yuan.

As a result, plastic tableware, especially plastic straws, once again become the focus of environmental concern.

Plastic straw material analysis

Straw as our daily necessities, there are a variety of materials, in addition to plastic, there are paper, metal, glass. But if it comes to convenience and popularity, plastic straws should not give in. It is understood that plastic straws are currently commonly used polymer materials polypropylene (PP) and polylactic acid (PLA). The two kinds of straws made of different materials have different advantages and disadvantages.

Polypropylene straw: has good toughness and mechanical strength, and for acid, alkali, organic solvents, inert, and non-toxic, the use of a wide temperature, qualified straw produced by PP can withstand the high temperature of about 80¡æ, and will not emit plastic taste in the event of heat; But its disadvantage is not easy to recycle, difficult to degrade.

polylactic acid straw: has good mechanical properties and processability, and polylactic acid products can be quickly degraded in a variety of ways after waste, is a class of degradable plastics in line with environmental protection requirements. However, due to the high cost, the market application is not as popular as PP.

It is reported that some drawing grades of PP on the market at present, such as: Yangzi Petrochemical F401, Sinopec T30S, etc., can be used as raw materials for plastic straws.

Of course, there are also some soft straws made of polyethylene (PE), but the PE material is too soft, do so thin wall thickness can not support the shape of the straw, do too thick in the cost is not cost-effective, so in the catering industry is relatively rare.

Ban source: pollution

Data show that China's cumulative output of plastic products last year 81.84 million tons, of which nearly 30,000 tons of plastic straws, about 46 billion, per capita use of more than 30.

The market demand for such a large plastic straw has encountered a ban, why? The biggest reason is environmental. Looking at the shocking Marine litter in many news reports, single-use plastic products are always named as the ""culprit"". Plastic straws have also become one of the top ten Marine debris today due to their small size, low recycling value and almost unrecyclable characteristics. On a global scale, plastic pollution is a huge problem. Even if they don't end up in the ocean, plastic straws that can't be recycled end up in landfills, where they can take up to 500 years to degrade.

On the other hand, it is not uncommon for plastic straws to be ""toxic"". In fact, the plastic straws produced by regular manufacturers are pure materials, even in the case of heating will not release any toxic and harmful substances, not to mention plastic straws are rarely used for hot drinks. But there is no shortage of individual illegal manufacturers in order to reduce production costs, the use of recycled materials to produce. When such straws are used, the toxic and harmful substances inside will be dissolved in the drinks. If used for a long time, it will indeed cause harm to the human liver and nervous system.

Cost is the biggest obstacle between plastic straws and alternatives

Throughout recent years, whether it is China or abroad, the policy level is implementing a ban on single-use plastic products. From disposable plastic bags to disposable plastic straws, although the ban is endless, but have to admit that this is an irreversible trend. For manufacturers of disposable plastic products such as plastic straws, this is undoubtedly a huge blow. From the ban, we can see that the key words are ""disposable"" and ""non-degradable"". So, what are the alternatives? According to experts, with the breakthrough and innovation of new materials and new technologies, the environmentally friendly replacement of plastic straws is not difficult: biodegradable bioplastics can be used instead, and recyclable straws made of paper, bamboo, plant straw, glass, metal and other materials can also replace plastic straws. But whether it is bioplastic or other materials, the biggest problem facing is still the cost. Taking paper straws as an example, the production cost of a paper straw is about 0.1 yuan, while the average production cost of plastic straws is only about 0.03 yuan per straw, less than 1/3 of the former, and the gap is large.

As far as the plastic industry is concerned, the biodegradable plastic market is still relatively small, there is no scale effect, and the cost is high. However, the proportion of plastic straws in the entire field of plastic products is very small, you can cultivate a small range of biodegradable plastics market, step by step to make the market bigger. Of course, the top priority is still to strengthen the research and development of new materials and new technologies, and find more low-cost, mass-produced environmentally friendly plastic alternatives. For the production enterprises of disposable plastic products, how to transform and upgrade, initially form the production capacity of substitutes, and strive to form the layout of new business as soon as possible has become the biggest test it is currently facing.

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