Environmentally friendly plastic bags are short for various types of biodegradable plastic bags. With the development of science and technology, various materials that can replace traditional PE plastics have emerged, including PLA, PHAs, PBA, PBS and other polymer materials. They can all replace traditional PE plastic bags. Environmentally friendly plastic bags are currently widely used: supermarket shopping bags, roll fresh-keeping bags, ground films, etc. have large-scale applications in China. Jilin Province has adopted PLA (polylactic acid) to replace traditional plastic bags throughout the province, and has achieved good results. In Sanya City, Hainan Province, starch-based biodegradable plastic bags have also entered supermarkets, hotels and other industries for large-scale use.

Basic Introduction

The "Plastic Restriction Order" implemented on June 1, 2008 clearly stipulates that shopping malls, supermarkets and collective markets shall not provide free plastic shopping bags, and prohibit the use of plastic shopping bags with a thickness of less than 0.025 mm. After the implementation of the "Plastic Restriction Order", certain results have been achieved, which has promoted the development of the environmentally friendly plastic bag industry to a certain extent.

Environmentally friendly plastic bags refer to:

1. Plastic bags that meet the national standard GB/T21661-2008 are called environmentally friendly plastic bags. Environmentally friendly plastic bags include recycled plastic bags and new plastic bags. Plastic bags that add degradable masterbatch during the production of plastic bags are called degradable plastic bags. Degradable plastic bags can automatically decompose under certain conditions after 90 days. Bags made of plastic film are collectively called plastic bags. The plastic bags we commonly use are: convenient bags, supermarket bags, handbags, flat bags, plastic bags, vests and industrial packaging bags.

2. A plastic bag that can be quickly dissolved after exposure to sunlight and moisture. According to the test of the National Environmental Protection Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, all indicators of the product have reached or exceeded the national quality standards. It has the characteristics of hygiene, non-toxicity and pollution-free. It is one of the most advanced environmentally friendly products in China. This degradable plastic bag is produced with non-toxic polyolefin resin and added with degradation agents and other raw materials. Its advent has brought hope for reducing or eliminating white pollution.

3. Plastic bags that can be recycled after use.

Origin of plastic bags

Plastic bags were first invented by a European factory owner in 1902. Because of its convenience and low price, it is almost everywhere. Since the birth of plastic bags, it is destined to be a "use and throw away" consumable.

Composition

Generally speaking, there is no completely environmentally friendly plastic bag. Only some plastic bags can be easily degraded after adding some ingredients. That is, degradable plastic. In the production process of plastic packaging products, a certain amount of additives (such as starch, modified starch or other cellulose, photosensitizer, biodegradation agent, etc.) are added to reduce the stability of plastic packaging and make it easier to degrade in the natural environment. There are 19 units in Beijing that develop or produce degradable plastics. Tests show that most degradable plastics begin to become thinner, lose weight, and lose strength after being exposed to the general environment for 3 months, and gradually break into pieces. If these fragments are buried in garbage or soil, the degradation effect is not obvious. There are four disadvantages of using degradable plastics: first, it consumes more food; second, the use of degradable plastic products still cannot completely eliminate "visual pollution"; third, due to technical reasons, the use of degradable plastic products cannot completely solve the "potential harm" to the environment; fourth, degradable plastics are difficult to recycle because they contain special additives.

In fact, the most environmentally friendly way is not to use plastic bags or to use fixed plastic bags, reduce the amount of plastic bags, and at the same time, they can be recycled through the government to reduce environmental pollution.

Decomposition time

The current environmentally friendly decomposition is relatively fast, and may decompose within a year. There are also faster ones. The Olympic environmentally friendly plastic bags can be decomposed 72 days after being discarded.

Harm of plastic bags

Plastic bags do bring convenience to our lives, but this temporary convenience brings long-term harm. The recycling value of plastic bags is low. In addition to being scattered in urban streets, tourist areas, water bodies, and on both sides of roads and railways during use, it also has potential harm. The plastic structure is stable and not easily degraded by natural microorganisms. It does not separate for a long time in the natural environment. This means that if waste plastics are not recycled, they will become pollutants in the environment and will continue to accumulate, causing great harm to the environment. First, it affects agricultural development. Waste plastic products are mixed in the soil and accumulate continuously, which will affect the absorption of nutrients and water by crops, resulting in reduced crop yields. Second, it poses a threat to animal survival. Waste plastic products abandoned on land or in water bodies are swallowed by animals as food, causing animal death. Nearly 1,000 sheep from 20 herdsmen on the shore of Qinghai Lake died as a result, with an economic loss of more than 300,000 yuan. Sheep like to eat the oily residues wrapped in plastic bags, but often eat the plastic bags together. Because the plastic they eat stays in their stomachs for a long time and is difficult to digest, the stomachs of these sheep are filled and they can no longer eat, and finally they can only starve to death. Such things are common in zoos, pastoral areas, rural areas, and oceans. Third, waste plastics landfilled with garbage will not only occupy a large amount of land, but the occupied land will not be restored for a long time, affecting the sustainable use of land. If the waste plastic products that enter the domestic garbage are landfilled, they will not degrade for 200 years. It is extremely harmful to the land, changing its pH, affecting the absorption of nutrients and water by crops, and leading to reduced agricultural production. As for plastic products abandoned in the water or on land, they not only affect the environment, but also cause death if swallowed by animals. This destroys the ecological balance. Fourth, high temperature decomposes toxic substances. Plastic products do not contain toxic substances, but because its recycling equipment is not perfect, the process is simple, and many manufacturers do not have legal business licenses, the recycled plastic products will precipitate toxic substances and penetrate into food when the temperature reaches 65буC, which will cause harm to important parts of the human body such as the liver, kidneys, reproductive system and central nervous system. Not long ago, the General Office of the State Council of China issued a "Notice on Restricting the Production, Sale and Use of Plastic Shopping Bags" to the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and all ministries and commissions of the State Council and all directly affiliated institutions. The notice pointed out: In view of the fact that shopping bags have become the main source of "white pollution", local governments, ministries and commissions should prohibit the production, sale and use of ultra-thin plastic shopping bags in the future, and will implement a paid use system for plastic shopping bags. From June 1, 2008, all supermarkets, shopping malls, bazaars and other commodity retail places will implement a paid use system for plastic shopping bags, and plastic shopping bags shall not be provided for free. Plastic bags play an indispensable role in our lives, and China consumes a large number of plastic bags every year. In China, 1 billion plastic bags are used every day just for buying vegetables, and the amount of other plastic bags used is more than 2 billion per day. It has long been a habit in our lives to go to supermarkets and bazaars to shop and be provided with plastic bags by merchants. However, while plastic bags provide convenience for consumers, they also cause serious waste of energy resources and environmental pollution due to excessive use and difficulty in recycling. In particular, ultra-thin plastic bags are easy to break, and coupled with the weak environmental awareness of the Chinese people, most of them are discarded at will after use, scattered in urban streets, tourist areas, water bodies, and on both sides of roads and railways, causing "visual pollution" and becoming the main source of "white pollution". More and more countries and regions have restricted the production, sale and use of plastic shopping bags. China's plastic restriction order means that our living habits will inevitably change, and we will have to go back to the life of carrying a basket to buy groceries. Therefore, it has triggered many opinions and comments. Some people may be accustomed to the convenience brought by plastic bags in life, ignoring the harm it causes and holding opposing opinions. Plastic bags were invented by Austrian scientist Max Schuschni on October 24, 1902. This packaging material is both light and strong, and is deeply loved by customers and merchants. Therefore, stores and vegetable markets have provided free plastic bags. But this invention has brought us serious environmental problems 100 years later. Since plastic bags are mostly made of non-renewable and degradable materials, the plastic structure is stable, not easily degraded by natural microorganisms, and they are not separated for a long time in the natural environment. The only way to deal with these white garbage is to dig up the soil and fill it or incinerate it at high temperature. Both methods are not conducive to environmental protection. The landfill of waste plastics will not only occupy a large amount of land, but also the occupied land will not be restored for a long time. Plastic bags buried in the ground will take more than 200 years to decompose, which is extremely harmful to the land. It will change the pH of the land, seriously pollute the soil, affect the absorption of nutrients and water by crops, lead to agricultural production reduction, and affect the sustainable use of land. The harmful smoke and toxic gases produced by incineration will also cause pollution to the atmospheric environment. Therefore, plastic bags have become the "worst invention" of mankind in the 20th century. The implementation of the plastic restriction order is to solve or alleviate a series of environmental problems caused by the excessive use of plastic bags. From June 1, 2008, everything will be different. Plastic bags with a thickness of less than 0.025 mm, that is, ultra-thin plastic bags, will be banned from production, sale, and use. In order to increase the service life of plastic bags, people can use plastic bags reasonably and economically to reduce pollution. All supermarkets, shopping malls, bazaars and other commodity retail places will no longer provide free plastic bags, and consumers are encouraged to pick up cloth bags and vegetable baskets again, and reuse durable shopping bags to reduce the use of plastic bags. Environmental protection is not a matter for one or two people, but a matter for everyone, the country, and future generations. It requires the whole society to act together and participate. We only have one earth. From the perspective of sustainable development, the plastic restriction order will be a measure that will benefit future generations. Perhaps in the near future, plastic bags will disappear from our lives. Everyone is responsible for protecting the environment! Let us be liberated from the confinement of using plastic bags! Plastic bags have low recycling value and most of them enter the environment for recycling. They have two main hazards to the environment, namely "visual pollution" and "potential harm". Visual pollution refers to the damage to the city appearance and landscape caused by waste plastic products scattered in the environment. Waste plastics scattered in large cities, tourist areas, water bodies, and railways bring adverse stimulation to people's vision, affecting the overall beauty of cities and scenic spots. It also damages the image of our country and citizens. We call this situation "visual pollution". Visual pollution is the most prominent hazard of the "white pollution" problem. Visual pollution caused by waste plastics exists to varying degrees in Chinese cities, tourist areas, water bodies, and on both sides of roads and railways. These waste plastics are scattered on the ground, or hang on branches with the wind, or float on the water surface, polluting the environment, spreading diseases, and the people have strong reactions to this. Potential hazards refer to the long-term and deep-seated environmental problems caused by the difficulty of waste plastic products to degrade after entering the natural environment. The plastic structure is stable and not easily destroyed by natural microorganisms, and it is not separated for a long time in the natural environment. This means that if waste plastics are not recycled, they will become pollutants in the environment and will exist permanently and accumulate. The hazards in the environment are as follows: affecting the development of industrial and agricultural production. Plastic products floating in the Yangtze River bring great difficulties to the use of water sources, causing pumps to be emptied and blocked, causing huge losses to industrial production and hydropower stations. For example, the Gezhouba Hydropower Station loses 200,000KW.H of power generation every day due to the cleaning of floating plastic garbage. After the completion of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, if plastic waste continues to pollute the water, the loss to power generation will be unimaginable. Such situations are common in zoos, pastoral areas, rural areas, and oceans. Waste plastic products that enter domestic garbage are difficult to recycle. If they are landfilled and do not degrade for 200 years, large tracts of land will be occupied for a long time, increasing the pressure on land resources. Not only will our generation be surrounded by garbage, but future generations will also lose their living space; it will affect the comprehensive utilization of garbage. Domestic garbage mixed with plastic is not suitable for composting. Waste plastic must be sorted out from the garbage, which increases the cost of composting. Polluted waste plastic has low utilization value because its quality cannot be guaranteed; randomly discarded plastic waste increases the workload and pressure of environmental sanitation departments; plastic waste is also easy to carry bacteria and spread diseases.

China's Development

The overall scale of China's environmental protection industry is still relatively small, and its boundaries and connotations are still being extended and enriched. With the development of China's social economy and the adjustment of industrial structure, the direct contribution of China's environmental protection industry to the national economy will change from small to large, and it will gradually become an industry that improves the quality of economic operation, promotes economic growth, and improves the level of economic technology. The direction of the expansion of the industry's connotation will mainly focus on clean technology, clean products, environmental services, etc., and the concept of China's environmental protection industry will also evolve into: "environmental industry" or "green industry".

During the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan", China's environmental protection industry is expected to maintain an average annual growth rate of 15%-17%. The key areas of environmental protection investment mainly include water environment, atmospheric environment, solid waste, ecological environment, nuclear safety and radiation environmental protection construction and environmental capacity building. In 2010, the total annual income of the environmental protection industry will reach about 880-1000 billion yuan, of which the output value of comprehensive resource utilization will be 660 billion yuan, the output value of environmental protection equipment will be 120 billion yuan, and the output value of environmental services will be 100 billion yuan.

Production Equipment

Environmentally friendly plastic bag production equipment includes plate making equipment, blow molding machines (also known as film blowing machines), plastic printing machines (varieties include gravure printing machines, plate printing machines, roller printing machines, screen printing machines), compounding machines, plastic bag making machines (generally divided into two types: cutting and ironing machines, hot cutting machines); environmentally friendly plastic bag production supporting equipment includes: mixers, proofing machines, punching machines, punching machines, balers, granulators and granulators.

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