Biodegradable and compostable packaging materials for tea and coffee
Biodegradable packaging materials can be divided into completely biodegradable plastic materials, destructive biodegradable plastic materials, and photodegradable plastic materials.
Destructive biodegradable packaging materials, like the oxidatively degradable packaging materials mentioned above, currently mainly include starch-modified (or filled) traditional petroleum-based packaging materials. After biodegrading the starch added to them, they decompose into smaller petroleum-based packaging materials. fragments. Because micropackaging materials will still be produced after decomposition and are not completely degradable, some countries have begun to ban oxo-degradable packaging materials. France began banning the plastic in 2015, and Spain introduced a similar ban in 2016. Retailers in the UK are also no longer using plastic bags made from oxo-biodegradable plastic. However, compared with traditional petroleum-based packaging materials, this type of plastic is more easily broken in the natural environment, which at least reduces the risk of fatal marine life due to accidental ingestion or entanglement.
Fully biodegradable packaging materials are made entirely of bio-based materials, all of which can biodegrade into carbon dioxide and water. For example, Jilin, which has issued a plastic ban, most of the known plastic bags use PLA and PHA packaging materials. Jilin also has a dedicated polylactic acid industrial park.
Photodegradable packaging materials introduce photosensitive groups into the polymer backbone or add photosensitizers, photoinitiators, etc. to the packaging materials to make traditional packaging materials have photodegradable properties. It refers to the orderly breaking of polymer molecular chains under the action of sunlight, leading to its destruction and degradation. Light and heat in the natural environment act on photodegradable packaging materials, which can decompose large plastic molecules into small molecules. But as the name implies, photodegradable packaging materials cannot degrade when they are not exposed to light (such as being buried in soil).
Green packaging bags are a major trend in the development of the world's packaging industry, and food safety is a key area of improvement in my country now and in the next few years. Both of them have a direct impact on the development of plastic packaging materials. At present, the research and development of green plastic packaging has become the goal of many enterprises. Green plastic packaging materials must not only be hygienic and environmentally friendly, but also have functional and high-performance packaging. This requires plastic packaging material companies to further improve and enhance in the following aspects.
The first is to innovate and develop new plastic materials and new processing technologies, so that more packaging materials with excellent properties can become packaging materials, and use the high performance of new materials to achieve packaging material reduction.
The second is to promote the progress and development of plastic blending technology, new plastic additives and application technology. On the premise of ensuring that plastic packaging materials are non-toxic, hygienic and environmentally friendly, low-cost technology is used to improve the performance of plastic packaging materials and to reduce waste. Provide possibilities.
The third is to improve and improve plastic recycling and processing technology to significantly increase the recycling rate of plastic packaging materials, improve and eliminate the hidden dangers of "white pollution" caused by plastic packaging materials, and improve resource utilization.
The fourth is to develop bio-based packaging materials and effectively regulate the degradation time and cycle of bio-packaging materials.
While giving full play to the functions of bioplastic packaging materials, we can reduce and eliminate the pollution and impact of plastic packaging materials on the ecological environment.
The fifth is to reduce the cost of new plastic packaging materials and new technologies through independent research and development and technological innovation, and avoid the problem that many plastic materials that comply with green packaging cannot be used in large areas due to excessive costs.
Sixth, develop advanced packaging technologies such as intelligence, and utilize the edible, water-solubility and other characteristics of some plastic packaging materials to reduce the amount of packaging waste and improve the safety and environmental protection performance of plastic packaging.
How to avoid contamination of tea and coffee packaging by plasticizers, metal elements, etc. while ensuring product performance is a problem that must be solved for enterprises to survive and develop. Thirdly, as a member of society, enterprises must assume corresponding social responsibilities, do a good job in packaging waste disposal and resource recycling and reuse, and achieve sustainable development requirements.
At the same time, the variety of tea and coffee packaging on the market is now rich, which has also prepared conditions for the development of the flexible packaging field. Of course, in the future development of flexible packaging, environmental protection is still its biggest advantage. As consumer market demands continue to diversify, flexible packaging for tea and coffee increasingly highlights the importance of lightweight packaging attributes in terms of printing carbon footprint analysis and packaging's environmental impact.