People who question the lifting of the ban worry about two problems, one is that if the foam tableware can not be effectively recycled, it will cause white pollution; The second is that if the use of harmful materials to produce foam tableware behavior, consumer health must be affected

had been banned from production, prohibited use, the period of elimination of 14 years of "disposable foam plastic tableware", will be restored after May 1 legal status. In this regard, the recent controversy has been continuous.

Actually, foaming tableware has been banned all these years. It is said that there are more than 100 foaming tableware manufacturers in China, and the annual market consumption is more than 10 billion, accounting for about 70% of the lunch box market. Many people have used this kind of tableware, but did not think that it is "unregistered".

The lifting of the ban, the National Development and Reform Commission has a description of more than 1200 words, listed five reasons: in line with the relevant standards of national food packaging utensils, can be recycled after use, many countries and regions in the world have been used, can save oil resources, the original banned environment has changed a lot. The lifting of the ban has also been thoroughly investigated, and the opinions of relevant departments such as environmental protection, industry and technology, quality inspection, industry and commerce, health, food and medicine have been solicited.

Even so, people who question the lifting of the ban are still worried about two problems. First, if the foam tableware can not be effectively recycled, it will cause white pollution; Second, if the use of harmful materials to produce foamed tableware is not controlled, consumers' health will certainly be affected.

These concerns are not unreasonable.

The main raw material for the production of foaming tableware is polystyrene extracted from petroleum. If it can be recycled, of course, it can save oil resources. It has been used in other places in the world, and its successful experience is that people do well in recycling. Hong Kong has never banned foamy cutlery, but the government has urged people to use less, and many large restaurant chains have gradually adopted reusable cutlery made of polypropylene to reduce waste generation.

Looking at the reality of garbage classification, recycling and treatment in many places in China, coupled with the low price of foam tableware recycling and the high cost of recycling, if there is no corresponding incentive measures and no reasonable cost sharing mechanism for recycling, recycling is an empty talk.

Foaming tableware in line with the national food packaging utensils related standards, the premise is that the enterprise must use qualified materials, scientific and reasonable process. In reality, not all production enterprises are so well-behaved. Some enterprises in order to reduce costs, actually use waste plastics, industrial calcium carbonate, talc, industrial paraffin and other materials, some to cover up waste plastic impurities and add fluorescent whitening agent, so that the production of foam tableware, how can meet the national standards, how to reassure people?

Although foaming tableware has many advantages, but it is difficult to degrade is its hard wound. Compared with the production and use of plastic bags in the urban and rural areas and the vast majority of rural areas, a large number of foam tableware after the lifting of the ban is also likely to be like plastic bags, scattered in the front of the village behind the house, fields, rivers and lakes, affecting agricultural production, water source protection and the survival of animals and plants. Collect it for landfill or incineration, and it also has environmental hazards. This environmental bill also needs to be carefully calculated.

To allay people's fears, regulations must follow closely after the lifting of the ban. First of all, the industry must be strictly access, can not let the foam tableware manufacturers rush; Secondly, in accordance with the principle of "who produces, who is responsible", the funds used to subsidize recycling undertakings are implemented; Third, make it clear which functional department should punish enterprises once they violate the rules of production, and can not quarrel between departments after problems.

If these measures can not keep up, foaming tableware will inevitably go back to the old road of "pollution first, treatment later". At this point, have we not suffered enough in the past? Wu Weizheng

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