Waste plastics refer to the relevant requirements of the "Measures for the Import of Solid Waste" and the "Import Waste Management Catalogue" for social recycling, including pipes, plates, sheets, films, and packaging materials, the imported similar materials that can be used as raw materials, and the scraps, scraps, and defective products generated during plastic production and processing. Plastic recycling is to convert the chemical energy or chemical substances stored in the waste plastic into new products or energy materials in a physical or chemical way, and realize the resource utilization of waste. At present, according to the different realization methods, the commonly used plastic recycling methods can be divided into mechanical recycling and chemical recycling.
In 2020, China generated about 60 million tons of waste plastics, landfill 21 million tons, incineration 22 million tons, and 1 million tons of abandoned, and this part of the abandonment leaked into the environment caused plastic pollution, while the recycling amount is only about 16 million tons, and the overall recycling rate of waste plastics is 26.7%. In 2021, the material recycling amount of waste plastics in China is about 19 million tons, with a recovery rate of 31%, which is nearly 1.74 times the global average material recycling rate of waste plastics, and the recycling capacity accounts for about 70% of the world, and 100% of the domestic material recycling has been achieved.
On January 9, 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Development and Reform Commission issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the control of plastic Pollution. On September 8, 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Notice on Issuing the "14th Five-Year Plan" Action Plan for Plastic Pollution Control, proposing: By 2025, the plastic pollution control mechanism will operate more effectively, the responsibilities of local governments, departments and enterprises will be effectively implemented, the production, circulation, consumption, recycling, and end disposal of plastic products will be more effective in the whole chain, and white pollution will be effectively contained. In terms of source reduction, the phenomenon of irrational use of disposable plastic products in key areas such as commodity retail, e-commerce, takeout, express delivery, and accommodation has been greatly reduced, and e-commerce express shipments have basically achieved no more secondary packaging, and the application scale of circular express packaging has reached 10 million. In terms of recycling and disposal, cities at the prefecture level and above have basically established domestic waste classification, collection, transportation and treatment systems according to local conditions, and the efficiency of plastic waste collection and transportation has been greatly improved. The incineration capacity of urban solid waste in China has reached about 800,000 tons/day, and the amount of plastic waste directly landfill has been significantly reduced. The recovery rate of agricultural film reached 85%, and the residual amount of plastic film in the country achieved zero growth. In terms of garbage clean-up, the historical open-air plastic waste in key water areas, key tourist attractions and rural areas has been basically cleared. The leakage of plastic waste into the natural environment has been effectively controlled.
The development of circular economy is a systematic project involving a wide range and comprehensive strength, and the development of circular economy is a powerful starting point to achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Reaching peak carbon neutrality requires fundamental changes in the way products are produced and used. It is important to reduce the production process emissions of products, also known as "process emissions". Waste plastics, as an indispensable part of it, is an important guarantee to achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and will further contribute to the development of circular economy, improve resource use, directly reduce energy and resource consumption, and achieve the double carbon goal.
