Green Packaging and Protecting Human Survival Environment (I)

Human survival and social development are inextricably linked to the social environment. Mankind itself is a product of long-term development in the natural world. It belongs to the natural world and forms a unified whole with the natural world for movement and development. Human beings are living in the process of exchanging materials, energy, and information with the nature and continuously developing human society. With the advancement of science and technology and the improvement of the production level, the human ability to influence nature has been greatly enhanced. Mankind has developed and utilized natural resources and energy from the natural world in large numbers, which has greatly improved the social outlook and people's lives. However, on the other hand, it also brought about a series of negative effects, such as the intensification of the greenhouse effect, the reduction of the Earth's ozone layer, land degradation, desertification, shortage of natural resources, and environmental pollution. Just because of diseases caused by air pollution and drinking water pollution, millions of people die prematurely every year. The development of the packaging industry also consumes large amounts of natural resources, produces poisonous wastes and packaging waste, and has become one of the important sources of pollution affecting the environment. In order to protect the environment, China has successively promulgated the "Environmental Protection Law", "Water Pollution Prevention Law", "Air Pollution Prevention Law", "Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law" and other laws of the People's Republic of China, which have caused the protection of human living environment. highly valued.

First, the relationship between packaging and the environment

Packaging and the environment have an inseparable and close relationship. The raw materials for packaging products come from natural resources such as mines, forests, and water; in the production process, a large amount of energy is required to be consumed, waste gas and waste residue are returned to the natural environment, and packaging products lose their packaging function. Become a packaging waste to pollute the environment. Therefore, packaging and the environment are closely linked. The relationship between packaging and the environment can be dialectically viewed in terms of both positive and negative aspects:

1, the role of packaging. Packaging has a protective effect on the environment and resources. Modern packaging has a variety of functions, including three major functions: protecting products, facilitating circulation, and promoting sales.

(1) Protect the product (article) function. The protection function can be divided into protection function and protection function. The protection function is based on the different types of features, characteristics such as type, shape, specification, specific gravity, fragility, moisture resistance, corrosion resistance, etc. Various packaging products made of different materials such as paper, glass ceramics, leather, fiber fabrics, and wood, bamboo, rattan, etc. are packaged so that the articles in the package are not lost in quality and quantity during circulation and storage. For some items, it can also extend the shelf life and shelf life; the external function is to prevent the items from falling through the package for certain items that are flammable, explosive, corrosive, toxic, radioactive, infective, and ferromagnetic. , leakage, explosion, pollution of the environment, protection of the external environment and personal safety.

(2) Convenient circulation function. Various products, including industrial products, agricultural products, etc., play a major role in the distribution process. First, the scattered items are packaged together so that they will not be scattered, leaked, or lost to facilitate loading, unloading, transport, and carrying. Second, some items will be prevented from being touched, shaken, and damped during loading, unloading and transportation to cause damage to the items and reduce resource losses.

(3) Promote sales function. Through packaging, not only product information can be fully conveyed, but also consumers' attention and attraction can be attracted, sales can be promoted, and the added value of the product can be improved. “People want clothing and things to be hardcovered.” The packaging design of good and bad, fine and simple packaging plays an important role in the sales of goods. After the packaging of “Chinese Pollen” was improved, its annual sales volume increased from 20,000 boxes to more than 900,000 boxes, and it entered the international market. “Little confused immortal wine” was hailed as a good drink for Chinese people. Except that the excellent quality of wine is the fundamental reason, its packaging design embodies the individuality of the nation and its unique style, which makes the wine icing on the cake and people can not put it down. The packaging of Gujing Gongjiu “new tribute” adopts the traditional dragon bottle shape (ie, one dragon It is entwined with pillars. The outer packaging is made of gold cardboard and a modern matte paint process. The exquisiteness reveals elegance and affinity. It is rich in the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, making its products worthy of collection and attracting consumers. Some kind of health products in Zhejiang, originally used carton packaging, each box priced at 100 yuan, and later changed to porcelain packaging, priced at close to 300 yuan, packaging to increase the value of goods.

2, the negative effect of packaging. The packaging industry has developed along with the rapid development of industries, agriculture, commerce and other industries and science and technology. According to statistics, in 2000 the output value of China's packaging industry has reached 220 billion yuan, packaging products about 30 million tons, including paper packaging 13.2 million tons of products, 2.65 million tons of plastic packaging products, 1.92 million tons of metal packaging products, 8.3 million tons of glass packaging products, 489,000 packaging machines, 271.3 billion printing of packaging and decorating, and some wood, bamboo, rattan, and ceramic packaging Products. According to the annual growth of 10%, the packaged product will reach 48.31 million tons by 2005. The production of these packaging products requires a large amount of natural resources and energy. When they lose their packaging functions, most of them become packaging waste (garbage) and are one of the important sources of pollution in the ecological environment. The following two aspects are discussed:

(1) The production of packaging products requires the consumption of large amounts of natural resources and energy, which affects the sustainable development of the industry. According to statistical calculations, China uses 4.5 million M3 of wood per year for wood packaging (calculated according to 0.0026 hectares of forest area required for the production of a M3 wood), and requires 11700 hectares of deforestation annually; the natural resources consumed by paper packaging products are mainly wood. Reeds, water, and fuel, according to China's current annual output of 13.2 million tons of paper packaging products, the need for wood 20 million M3, equivalent to 52,000 hectares of forest area, consumption of water 145.596 million tons (100 tons per ton of paper water, steam water 10.3 tons Calculations): The fuel is 71.28 million kilograms and the electricity is 467.28 million kilowatts; in metal packaging products, China generally uses iron, aluminum, tin and other metal materials, and the annual production of 1.92 million tons requires 4.8 million tons of ore resources; The production of 265 million tons requires more than 10 million tons of ore; the plastic packaging products, calculated at an annual output of 8.3 million tons, consume 5.3 million tons of crude oil and 7.95 million tons of water; the manufacture of packaging machinery requires a large amount of metal materials and also consumes ores. And energy. The output of packaging products is growing at a rate of about 10% every year. The consumption of natural resources is increasing, and some natural resources are already in short supply.

(2) Packaging wastes pollute the ecological environment. After the packaging products lose their packaging functions, most of them become packaging waste (garbage) and pollute the ecological environment, except for a small part of recycling and reuse. According to statistics, packaging waste in developed countries accounts for one-third of municipal solid waste in terms of weight, and accounts for about one-half in volume. China's packaging waste accounts for about 15% of municipal solid waste. About 25% in volume. China's polystyrene foam plastic used in the manufacture of shockproof packaging for goods consumes 400,000 tons per year. The finished product is 130 million cubic meters. It is equivalent to more than 400 100-story skyscrapers. It has more than 4,000 in ten years. Blocks of skyscrapers in the volume of skyscrapers, these foams will not rot, can not be degraded. Beijing consumes more than 2.3 billion plastic bags each year and weighs about 140,000 tons. Nanjing consumes more than one billion plastic bags each year. Plastic wastes such as plastic fast food boxes and plastic bags in Hangzhou are as much as 10,000 tons a year. These packaging wastes, considered as "white pollution," cause pollution to the atmosphere, water, and soil and affect the ecological environment.

(to be continued)