In hot weather, more people are ordering takeout, and the amount of food packaging waste generated has also increased. On June 20 this year, the "Management Measures for the Use and Reporting of Disposable Plastic Products by Business Operators" was officially implemented, requiring food delivery platforms and food delivery companies to regularly report the use and recycling of disposable plastic products. So, where does the plastic waste generated by takeout go in the end, and can it be recycled? Let's take a look at the visit of CCTV reporters.

At noon, the reporter saw on the streets of Beijing that there were few pedestrians on the road under the scorching sun, and the takeaway riders who hurriedly picked up and delivered food became the busiest figures outdoors.

At about one o'clock in the afternoon, the reporter saw in the office building that after lunch, all kinds of takeout garbage appeared in a concentrated manner, and the smaller garbage cans were about to overflow. Most of the discarded takeout garbage is plastic lunch boxes, and the cleaners who collect waste never pick them up.

What about the takeout garbage in residential areas? The reporter visited the garbage sorting stations in many communities and saw that there was basically no takeaway garbage in the recyclable garbage bins. After the residents dumped the takeaway leftovers into the kitchen waste, all kinds of packaging were thrown into other garbage. A community garbage sorting instructor told reporters that except for paper packaging, no one cared about other plastic garbage in the takeaway garbage.

The reporter found a point for collecting household waste. According to the recycling staff, most takeaway plastic lunch boxes are not collected, and they only want this kind of white and transparent lunch box.

It is reported that they purchase this kind of white and transparent polypropylene lunch box with the PP logo on it. The purchase price of one kilogram is 1.8 yuan. Not only do they have to clean it up, but they also have to collect at least three to five kilograms, or hundreds of lunch boxes, at a time before they can be weighed. It is not easy to distinguish and clean out this kind of lunch box from all kinds of takeaway garbage, so the purchase volume of plastic lunch boxes is very small.

When the reporter visited Beijing, he found that most of the plastic garbage generated by takeout was merged into other garbage and eventually incinerated.

Plastic tableware should be reduced and plastic recycling should be increased

How should plastic pollution in the takeaway industry be managed? Can lunch boxes be replaced with degradable materials like straws? In addition to reducing from the source, can the plastic waste that has been generated by the use of plastic products be recycled? Many places in China are also actively carrying out pilot explorations.

After investigation, the reporter found that degradable disposable straws have gradually become popular, while degradable lunch boxes are rare. Experts said that degradable plastics have problems such as poor heat resistance and mechanical properties, insufficient production capacity, and high sales prices, which have led to low acceptance in the lunch box market.

Takeaway rider:Paper lunch boxes are easy to get wet and leak. If they are spilled, we will have to pay for the meal.

Wen Zongguo, director of the Circular Economy Industry Research Center of the School of Environment, Tsinghua University:Whether in terms of environmental impact or economic efficiency, some substitutes are not better than plastics. In the original intention, it is not to ban the production and consumption of plastics, but we should try to make the total amount of plastics reach the ceiling as soon as possible and make it (drop) down.

Experts said that the takeaway industry should reduce plastic from the source, first of all, to reduce some unnecessary disposable plastic consumption. According to statistics, as of April 2023, more than 327 million Meituan takeaway users have used the "no tableware required" function, and the number of orders without tableware on the Ele.me platform has exceeded 1.4 billion.

In addition, increasing the recycling of takeaway plastic waste is also being piloted in some places.

At the beginning of this year, Shenzhen launched a pilot project for the classification and recycling of takeaway packaging waste in commercial office buildings, and added a special trash can for "takeaway packaging waste" in the pilot office building. After the employees poured the takeaway food residues into the kitchen waste bin, all takeaway packaging was collected separately and sent for recycling.

As early as July 2020, Xiamen City revised the "Guide Catalogue of Low-Value-Added Recyclables of Domestic Waste", and takeaway boxes were included in low-value recyclables. In the pilot community, the plastic lunch boxes, tableware and plastic bags in residents' takeout will be collected together, without manual sorting, and all will enter the intelligent sorting platform.

Experts suggest that food delivery platforms can use the background big data to sort out the areas with the most takeout orders and takeout garbage in different cities, cooperate with downstream recycling companies, and accurately deploy takeout garbage recycling facilities. Local governments can also provide support in terms of land and finance.

In addition, reducing takeout plastic pollution also requires the participation of consumers. For example: when going on an outing, do not throw away food box garbage at will, and consciously sort garbage; when dining, try to dine in or choose not to use tableware, and bring your own lunch box to pack; reusable packaging should be used as many times as possible, which are all important contributions to protecting the environment.

Plastic Industry Video