Disposable foam tableware on sale in Nanning market

China News Service, May 1 (Li Jinlei) After being banned for 14 years, disposable foam plastic tableware was officially "released from the cage" and returned to the market today. The "sudden lifting of the ban" of disposable foam plastic tableware has caused many controversies. The public is worried that "white pollution" may reappear, and is more worried about whether its safety can be guaranteed. The market for degradable tableware may also be impacted. Analysis points out that disposable foam plastic tableware should not be "naked return", and scientific industry access standards, effective industry supervision and a sound recycling system must be established.

Disposable foam plastic tableware banned for 14 years

In February this year, the National Development and Reform Commission issued Order No. 21 to adjust the relevant items of the "Guidelines for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2011 Edition)" and deleted disposable foam plastic tableware from the list of eliminated products. With the entry into force of this regulation, disposable foam plastic tableware returned to the market on May 1 this year after being banned for 14 years since 1999.

The National Development and Reform Commission gave five reasons for lifting the ban on disposable foam plastic tableware: first, it meets the relevant national standards for food packaging utensils; second, it can be recycled and reused after use; third, it has been used in many countries and regions in the world; fourth, it can save oil resources; and fifth, the social environment has changed.

It is understood that disposable foam plastic tableware was first used on Chinese railways in 1986. Since the discarded lunch boxes seriously damaged the ecology and landscape along the railway, the former Ministry of Railways banned the use of foam tableware in railway stations and trains from May 1995. By 1999, the former State Economic and Trade Commission issued the "Catalogue of Eliminating Outdated Production Capacity, Technology and Products" (State Economic and Trade Commission Order No. 6), which stipulated that disposable foam plastic tableware should be eliminated by the end of 2000.

The public is worried about the reappearance of "white pollution"

Previously, when explaining the reasons for the ban on disposable foam plastic tableware, the former State Economic and Trade Commission pointed out that there were serious problems in the production, use, and recycling of disposable foam plastic tableware. Some of the foaming agents used in the production process will destroy the atmospheric ozone layer, and some have serious safety hazards; improper use at high temperatures can easily produce substances that are harmful to human health; random discarding after use will cause serious environmental pollution; it is difficult to degrade when buried in the ground, which will cause pollution to the soil and groundwater, and it is very difficult to recycle and treat.

It is worth noting that although disposable foam plastic tableware has been banned since 1999, due to its "ban but not end", some people only learned that "it has been banned for 14 years" after hearing the news of its lifting of the ban. Although the National Development and Reform Commission has a firm reason for lifting the ban, the public has expressed some concerns about the "sudden lifting of the ban" of disposable foam plastic tableware: Will this lead to the reappearance of "white pollution"?

Some environmental protection organizations said that because disposable foam lunch boxes have low cost, relatively low recycling value, and light weight, they are easily discarded in large quantities, and the risk of white pollution may increase. In addition, there are doubts that the lifting of the ban on disposable foam plastic tableware will have a certain impact on the existing environmental protection concept of disposable tableware consumption.

Consumers are worried about whether they can be guaranteed to be safe and non-toxic

In addition to the concern about the possibility of "white pollution", the return of disposable foam plastic tableware to the market, consumers are most concerned about safety issues: after more than ten years of ban, now that the ban has been lifted, can its safety be guaranteed, and will it have an impact on human health?

It is noteworthy that CCTV once revealed in a report on "foreign garbage turning into lunch boxes" in 2010 that some foam tableware manufacturers would add industrial-grade calcium carbonate, talcum powder and other toxic and harmful substances to the production raw materials; and use fluorescent brighteners that are strictly prohibited in food packaging materials. In the face of the toxicity of tableware that the masses are most concerned about, the National Development and Reform Commission stated that it has commissioned the Food Safety Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct inspections in accordance with relevant national standards. The experimental results show that disposable foam plastic tableware meets relevant national standards.

Although there is still controversy in society about the safety of disposable foam plastic tableware, experts point out that regular and qualified foam tableware is safe. Peng Chao, secretary general of the Fuzhou Plastic Industry Association, said that as long as it is not heated in a microwave oven, boiled in boiling water, or placed in high-temperature foods above 100буC, qualified foam tableware is safe and will not produce harmful substances.

May impact the degradable tableware market

The "sudden lifting of the ban" on disposable foam plastic tableware will inevitably have an impact on the degradable tableware market. It is understood that since 2001, the state has required the catering industry to use "degradable tableware", but the cost is more than ten times higher than that of foam tableware. The promotion of degradable tableware has been difficult for more than ten years.

According to Dong Jinshi, executive vice president of the International Food Packaging Association, because disposable foam plastic tableware is cheaper than other alternative products and has market demand, although the state has repeatedly banned production, there are still more than 100 companies in China that produce and sell it.

It should be pointed out that the "legalization" of disposable foam plastic tableware may have a greater impact on the degradable tableware market. Some degradable plastic manufacturers shouted "I can't afford it."

Regulation and recycling are the key after the ban is lifted

For this lifting of the ban, an analysis article pointed out that after the ban is lifted, disposable foam tableware will mainly face four major problems: difficult to control the quality of raw materials, worrying about product quality; abuse of additives, threatening food safety; limited use temperature, unreasonable use is harmful; recycling is difficult to become a core problem, and there is a worry about the reappearance of "white pollution".

Some people believe that the return of disposable foam tableware should not be a "naked return", but a return that reassures consumers and does not harm the environment. To achieve this possibility, a sound recycling system, a scientific industry access standard, and an effective industry supervision system are indispensable.

Industry insiders said that the production of foam tableware must issue industry standards as soon as possible, clarify industry access conditions, and standardize the standards that should be applied to a series of links from raw material production to final molding. At the same time, it is necessary to warn and inform consumers under what circumstances the lunch boxes can be used safely and under what circumstances the lunch boxes will produce toxic substances, so as to protect consumers' right to life and health. In the recycling process, a recycling and reuse system for used disposable foam plastic tableware should be established to prevent white garbage from polluting the environment. (End)

Plastic Industry Video