Disposable Degradable Plastic Tableware Has Great Market Potential! Disposable Plastic Food Packaging In China In 2022

Major companies in China's disposable plastic food packaging container industry: Meiyang Plastic Hardware Products, Jiamei Food Packaging, Dadongnan (002263), Meiyi Chengtai Packaging Materials, Saizhuo Plastic Industry, Jihong Technology, etc.

The core data of this article: plastic classification of disposable plastic food packaging containers, proportion of plastic types, policies, development prospects

Disposable plastic food packaging container plastics are divided into traditional and degradable plastics

The plastic materials of disposable plastic food packaging containers include traditional plastics and degradable plastics. Among them, traditional plastics include PE, PP, PS, PET, PVC, etc. In the field of food packaging, they are used in plastic bags, beverage bottles, disposable lunch boxes, commercial cling paper, cling film and other products; degradable plastics include starch-based degradation Plastics, PLA, PBS, PBAT, PPC, etc., are used in the fields of food packaging films, disposable tableware, and food packaging.

Note: Degradable plastics include water-degradable plastics (starch-based degradable plastics), photodegradable plastics, photo/biodegradable plastics and biodegradable plastics. Among them, starch-based degradable plastics, biodegradable plastics such as PLA, PBS, PBAT, PPC and other applications in the field of disposable food packaging.

Starch-based degradable plastics account for the highest proportion of biodegradable plastics

According to European Bioplastics data, PLA and starch-based plastics are the main biodegradable plastics. In 2020, starch-based degradable plastics will have the highest production capacity in the world, accounting for 32%, while PLA and PBAT account for 32% and 23% of the global market, respectively.

"Plastic Restriction Order" restricts and prohibits the use of non-degradable plastic products

In 1999, my country launched the "plastic restriction order" "Order No. 6 issued by the State Economic and Trade Commission (99)", proposing a complete ban on the production and use of disposable foam plastic tableware before the end of 2000; The "Notice of Plastic Shopping Bags" proposes to ban the production, sale, and use of plastic shopping bags with a thickness of less than 0.025 mm nationwide, and to implement a system of paid use of plastic shopping bags. Since 2020, policies on disposable plastic food packaging have been introduced intensively, the main content being the restriction and prohibition of the use of non-degradable plastic products. In 2021, the "14th Five-Year Plan for Circular Economy Development" proposed to actively and steadily promote degradable plastics according to local conditions:

Judging from the implementation time of the plastic restriction order, the implementation of plastic restriction in the built-up areas of municipalities directly under the Central Government, provincial capital cities, and cities under separate state planning is stronger. The use of non-degradable plastic bags is prohibited in supermarkets, catering package delivery services and various exhibition activities; the use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws in the catering industry is prohibited; the use of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware in dine-in services is prohibited.

Changing public habits is considered a difficulty in the "plastic restriction order"

According to a survey conducted by China Youth Daily on the difficulties of the "plastic restriction order", 59.7% of the respondents believed that "changing public habits", 16.8% of the respondents believed that "the development and promotion of new materials is difficult", and 12.7% of the respondents believed that "the development and promotion of new materials is difficult". 10.7% of respondents said that "new areas are difficult to supervise". Therefore, encouraging enterprises to produce degradable plastics and allowing consumers to actively adopt new environmentally friendly plastic products are the key factors in implementing the "plastic restriction order".

Disposable degradable plastic tableware has great market potential

In 2021, the strictest "plastic restriction order" in history will officially take effect nationwide. On the one hand, the promotion of policies and the improvement of environmental protection requirements have promoted the demand for degradable plastics; on the other hand, with the development of technology and the improvement of the utilization level of raw materials in the future, it is expected to reduce the cost of degradable plastics and further promote market demand.

In 2020, the number of orders in China's food delivery market will reach 17.12 billion. According to the historical growth rate of orders for instant delivery (including food delivery and express delivery), it is assumed that the average annual growth rate of orders in the food delivery market is about 5%. According to the weight of a single plastic lunch box is 50g, each takeaway consumes an average of 1.5 lunch boxes, and a single takeaway plastic bag is calculated at 5g, and each takeaway needs about 80g of food plastic packaging. Assuming that the replacement rate of degradable plastics is 30%, and taking into account the requirement in the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution" to the end of 2025, the consumption intensity of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware in the field of catering and takeaway in cities above the prefecture level will be reduced by 30%. In 2025, the policy coverage will rise to 60%. According to this calculation, the market space for degradable plastics in the field of disposable plastic tableware will be 150,000 tons in 2022, and the replacement space for degradable plastics in this field may be close to 350,000 tons in 2025.