CCTV network (reporter Zhu Juan reports) "The recycling and treatment of disposable foamed tableware in China is impossible at present." "Don't first say impossible, Japan and the United States can do it, why can't China do it?" On the morning of April 19, a civil society meeting on "lifting the ban on disposable foamable plastic tableware", originally scheduled to start at 10 o 'clock, was brought forward because of a quarrel between two guests with different views. One was Dong Jinshi, secretary general of the International Food Packaging Association, while the other was Yang Huidi, member of the plastic Technical Cooperation Committee of the China Plastics Association.

Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission removed disposable foamy plastic tableware from the catalogue of eliminated products, which will take effect on May 1 this year. This means that disposable foamed plastic tableware will return to the market after being banned for 14 years.

Reporter learned from the meeting on the day that at present, China has obtained the production license of plastic lunch boxes there are more than 1400, paper products production enterprises more than 400, of which more than 100 foam tableware production enterprises, accounting for 70% of the lunch box market, the annual market consumption of more than 10 billion.

Why did this lifting of the ban cause so much concern? What will be the impact of the return of foam lunch boxes to the market? Is disposable foam tableware safe? At the meeting, which was initiated by civil organizations, experts from different fields have given their views.

The standard is too low

In view of whether the disposable foam lunch box is toxic, Yang Huidi who has been engaged in plastic research for a long time believes that the toxicity problem has been solved. Yang Huidi explained that the polystyrene resin raw materials used in the production of disposable foam lunch boxes are used for food. Styrene residue monomer is harmless to people at 5000ppm, and China stipulates that it is below 1000ppm. And the National Development and Reform Commission, CDC on China's production of polystyrene material factory sampling survey results show that the content is less than 1000ppm. "Therefore, there is no problem with the raw material monomer, we can rest assured." Yang Huidi said.

Dong Jinshi thinks, "The standard polystyrene does not contain the test of n-ethane, that is, the test of grease, then can this product contain oil? Disposable foam lunch box use temperature should be controlled below 80 degrees Celsius, more than this temperature will produce what kind of harm?

According to the reporter, the National Development and Reform Commission commissioned the Food Safety Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention according to the relevant national standards for inspection. The results show that disposable foamed plastic tableware conforms to the "health standard of polystyrene resin for food packaging" (GB9692-1988) and the "health standard of polystyrene molding products for food packaging" (GB9689-1988). Dong Jinshi said that the standard was set too low.

< p> Yang Huidi believes that disposable foamed plastic tableware is cost-effective, can be recycled, one can be used as fuel, added to biological waste to improve the caloric value, the second is made of combustible solid incineration.
Dong Jinshi expressed concern about the recycling of disposable foamed lunch boxes, he introduced that after the State Economic and Trade Commission issued a ban on the use of disposable foamed lunch boxes in 1999, various parts of China have introduced corresponding management measures for foamed lunch boxes. The following year, Shanghai began to operate the foam tableware management recycling system known as the "3-cent project". But with the emergence of a large number of illegal foamed tableware in 2005, the normal recycling system began to struggle to make ends meet and gradually became unsustainable. Dong Jinshi believes that according to today's recycling cost, even according to the investment of 5 cents, it is difficult to achieve. Cao Yang from the China Renewable Resources Association also said at the meeting that China's current garbage recycling rate is only about 40%, plastic and disposable foam lunch boxes have low added value, and the disposal cost is high when mixed with China's waste. There is still a long way to go before a producer responsibility system can be introduced in the future to let manufacturers bear the cost of recycling and treatment.

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Although the two sides held their own opinions on the day, Yang Huidi and Dong Jinshi said that the use of disposable foam lunch boxes should pay attention to the method, do not install food with too high temperature, and do not put the lunch box into the microwave oven to heat.

The two experts also hope that the state will introduce the production standards and supervision mechanism of disposable foam lunch boxes as soon as possible to ensure the safe use of residents.