In the past year, Chinese consumers consumed more than 21.31 billion cups of freshly brewed tea, equivalent to an average of 676 cups per second. Behind these tea consumption, about 430,400 tons of plastic waste were generated.

On September 4, the environmental organization Pacific Environmental Resources Center released the report "Unlocking the New Green of Milk Tea: A Study on the Path to Plastic Reduction in China's Milk Tea Industry", which aimed at the challenge of plastic waste growth behind the expansion of new tea drinks and proposed suggestions for the industry's plastic reduction path in the next five years.

Behind the expansion of new tea drinks: plastic waste growth

Based on the public output of the main brands of new tea drinks and the average weight of the main packaging such as tea cups, the report estimates the plastic waste generated by the consumption of new tea drinks in the past year. Among them, 70% of the plastic waste comes from the top ten well-known chain brands in terms of sales on food delivery platforms.

From the perspective of the entire industry, this is equivalent to about 4 months of plastic household waste in a megacity like Beijing with a population of 21 million, or a year of plastic household waste in a large city like Hefei, Anhui with a population of 9 million. However, the existing recycling and reuse system is not mature, which means that these plastic wastes either enter the environment and become a source of pollution, or cannot be reused in landfills or incineration plants.

As 2025 approaches, China's "Opinions on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment" in 2020, the "New Plastic Restriction Order", has entered its final stage. As a key regulated industry, takeaway catering aims to reduce the use of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware in the industry by 30% in cities at or above the prefecture level.

The report pointed out that recent studies have shown that China's annual total amount of takeaway plastic packaging waste is between 460,000 tons and 1.68 million tons, and the plastic waste in the new tea beverage industry has reached the same volume. If no measures are taken, by 2030, the total amount of waste generated by the new tea beverage industry will reach 1.241 million tons per year, 2.8 times that of 2023.

"As an important member of the catering industry, new tea beverages have a wide consumer group, especially favored by young consumers. For this reason, their demonstration effect in reducing plastic is particularly critical. If companies can take the lead, it will have a positive impact on promoting the green transformation of the catering industry and the realization of national plastic reduction goals." Li Chenyang, a waste-free city project officer at the Pacific Environmental Resources Center, said when releasing the report.

Plastic reduction path: closed loop from source to recycling

To meet this challenge, the report proposes that the new tea beverage industry should start from four aspects: source reduction, reuse, cautious use of alternative materials, and driving recycling to achieve the vision of zero plastic.

Exquisite tea packaging often stimulates consumers to try new things and is more exposed on social media, but such marketing methods significantly increase the weight of tea cups. A 2022 environmental organization survey found that a cup of tea contains up to 12 pieces of packaging, of which non-essential packaging accounts for more than 30% of the total weight of the packaging. The report recommends reducing waste in the production and sales links, adopting lightweight designs, and removing unnecessary packaging and accessories as much as possible. If plastic reduction actions are started immediately, it is estimated that 366,700 tons of waste can be reduced annually by 2030.

The reuse model is not unfamiliar to consumers. Non-disposable mugs and self-service cups used for dining in are typical examples. Although it is relatively common in large coffee chains to offer discounts to consumers who bring their own cups, the report points out that among the top ten new tea drink chain brands, only two companies have long encouraged consumers to reduce the use of disposable plastic packaging through this measure.

Merchants can further promote reuse by providing "circular cups". For consumers, if they don't bring their own cups with them, circular cups provide a sustainable option for those who want to drink but don't want to create garbage.

Circular cups are usually operated by professional companies. After consumers use the circular cups in one store, they can return them in other stores or street return points. These cups are disinfected and reused. The Paris Olympics adopted circular cups to avoid the use of disposable plastic cups. Singapore, Taiwan, Europe and North America have all successfully implemented circular cups.

However, China has not yet established a mature circular cup market. The report pointed out that the construction of a circular cup system requires upfront investment, which will increase operating costs and business risks. Therefore, in order to guide consumers to change their consumption habits of disposable plastic packaging, it is recommended that the government, management agencies, third-party agencies and tea drink companies share the transformation costs in the early stage of promotion.

The report suggests that new tea drink companies can also replace petroleum-based plastics by adopting non-petroleum-based materials. Since the promulgation of the "new plastic restriction order", some milk tea companies have replaced plastic straws with paper or bio-based materials. However, the report reminds that alternative materials have their own specific degradation conditions, and China's current waste classification system makes it impossible for many alternative materials to be properly recycled; in addition, alternative materials will also generate environmental problems such as carbon emissions, waste and wastewater during production, manufacturing and transportation, so it is necessary to carefully evaluate the environmental impact of the material throughout its life cycle.

Finally, for the inevitable plastic waste in tea packaging, the report recommends that recycling should be promoted by adopting easy-to-recycle designs and improving recycling processes to reduce the generation of final waste.

The report shows that if all measures are fully implemented, by 2030, the total amount of waste in the new tea industry can be reduced to 419,700 tons, a decrease of 21.82% from 2024, and a decrease of 66.18% compared to the "business as usual" situation.

The report finally emphasizes that to achieve the industry's zero waste goal, it depends on the systematic transformation of the consumer environment. Enterprises are only one link. It is also necessary to improve plastic reduction policies and obtain the active participation and support of consumers to jointly promote transformation.

Li Chenyang said: "The choices of global consumers are driving various industries towards sustainable development, and new tea drinks are no exception. Milk tea does not have to be tied to "disposable". With the participation of consumers, green transformation will bring new trends and opportunities to new tea drinks."

Plastic Industry Video