In January last year, the “Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution” issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment was called “the strongest plastic restriction order in history.” Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and other places have accelerated the implementation of plastic price limit orders. The Chengdu version of “the most powerful plastic restriction order in history”-“Chengdu Action Plan for Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control” will also enter everyone’s lives in 2021.
“But the standard is actually a little bit more, it feels very confusing, and there is no idea yet.” The standard for the production of plastic products mentioned by Mr. Yang refers to the standard for degradable plastic bags. Except for Mr. Yang, many citizens are confused about the standard of “plastic limit order”. “I very much support plastic restrictions, but I don’t know which is a biodegradable plastic bag.”
What kind of biodegradable plastic bag is it, and the standard should be marked? The reporter asked about the standards and interviewed the testing agency.
Offline Supermarket
The standards of biodegradable plastic bags are different, and the materials feel different. The reporter visited the scene and found that the standards of biodegradable plastic bags used in offline supermarkets were inconsistent.
The biodegradable plastic shopping bag used in Familymart is marked GB/T38082-2019. According to the manufacturer, this is a standard widely used in degradable plastic bags in the industry. However, the plastic shopping bags used in WOWO convenience stores only carry the words “degradable eco-friendly bags” without marking the production standard or plastic type. The feel of this plastic bag is slightly different from Familymart, it feels thicker and has a smoother surface.
In addition, the plastic bag standard for the three supermarkets is plastic shopping bag (GB/T21661-2008). Some plastic bags that implement this standard are printed with the slogan “Environmentally friendly “bag” home”. Is this plastic bag degradable? The merchant said that they are not biodegradable plastic bags, with the words “environmental protection” written on them, and hope that everyone can use them many times.
In addition to visiting Shangchao, the reporter saw at a sales center in Erxianqiao that two types of biodegradable plastic bags are sold here. One is similar to the one in WOWO convenience stores, with a smooth surface, and the other is similar to the degradable plastic bag used in Familymart, with lighter weight.
Online inquiry
Implementation of various standards, the standards of each region are different
After entering “degradable plastic bags” on the shopping website, the reporter consulted the five or six stores with the highest sales and learned that the degradable plastic bags sold online mainly include three categories: biodegradable, starch-based degradation and photodegradation.
Among them, biodegradable plastic bags are usually called fully biodegradable plastic bags, and the implementation standard is GB/T38082-2019. Using a mixture of PBAT + PLA and PBAT + PLA + ST, the relative decomposition rate exceeds 90%. Soft material, translucent bag, natural degradation and relatively expensive price.
The starch-based degradable plastic bag contains bio-based corn starch ST30 degradable material, and the implementation standard is GB/T38079-2019. Using ST30 plant corn starch mixture, the bio-based content is 20%-50%. The material is slightly soft, the bag is milky white and light yellow, which can be buried and degraded at a moderate price.
The light-degradable plastic bag is made of light-degradable mineral and inorganic powder MD40. The implementation standard is GB/T20197-2006. Using a mixture of PE and MD40 degradable particles, the degradation rate exceeds 30%. The material is hard to touch, it is a milky white bag, which can be incinerated into powder, buried and photooxidized, and the price is economical and practical.
Except for the above three standards, the reporter did not see GB/T21661-2008 in the inspection report provided by the merchant. Some businessmen say that many local policies differ depending on where they are used. “Biodegradation is usually carried out in coastal areas and requires 100% complete degradation in water. Currently, Hainan requires complete biodegradation. Starch degradation and photodegradation can be used in other areas.
Standard distinction
The standard clarifies how to mark: “mark on the product or outer packaging.” The standards of biodegradable plastic bags are dazzling. Chaos. Are the above standards valid? The reporter asked this question in the national standard full-text disclosure system and industry-related websites. Except for the “GB/T 21661-2008 plastic shopping bag” which was abolished on December 31, 2020 and replaced by the “GB/T 21661-2020 plastic shopping bag”, all other standards are still valid.
It is worth noting that GB/T 20197-2006 defines the definition, classification, marking and degradation performance requirements of degradable plastics. According to this standard, under specified environmental conditions, after a period of time and including one or more steps, the chemical structure of the material will change significantly, some properties will be lost, or the plastic will decompose into degraded plastic. According to its design, the final degradation methods of degradable plastics include biodegradable plastics, compostable plastics, photodegradable plastics and thermal oxidative degradation plastics.
At the same time, this standard recommends that when using a mark on a degradable plastic product, it should be marked on the product or outer packaging. The photodegradable polypropylene plastic sheet produced according to this standard contains 15% mineral powder and 25% glass fiber, and 5% photosensitizer is added. The length, width and thickness are 500mm, 1000mm and 2mm, respectively, expressed as GB/T20197/photodegradable plastic PP-(GF25 + MD15) DPA5.
