Second Draft of the National Standard: Requirements for Production and Sales Management System of Recycled Plastics
Chen Yan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Recycled Plastics Branch of China Material Recycling Association and Director of the Standards Department, reported on the standard's drafting work plan, the content of the draft standard, and the collected and summarized opinions. The discussion focused on the basic content and framework of the recycled plastics production and sales management system, with special attention paid to key technical issues such as supply chain management, the definition and application of the chain of custody, and chemical recycling.
Experts present at the meeting unanimously agreed that establishing a scientific and standardized production and sales management system for recycled plastics is of great significance for promoting the healthy development of the recycled plastics industry.
In addition, the meeting also conducted detailed discussions on the specific content and wording of the standard. Secretary-General Wang Yonggang stated that the standard should align with the international standard system, and its content should be as concise and clear as possible, avoiding excessive technical terms and complicated expressions to facilitate understanding and implementation by enterprises and regulatory authorities.
The convening of this meeting marks an important step forward in the supervision of production and sales, traceability, and other related work of recycled plastics in China. Experts attending the meeting expressed that they will actively participate in the revision and improvement of the standard to jointly promote the healthy and sustainable development of China's recycled plastics industry.
Finally, the meeting decided to further revise and improve the draft standard based on the discussion results of this meeting. At the same time, the meeting also called on more industry experts and enterprises to participate in the formulation and improvement of the standard, so as to jointly advance the standardization process of China's recycled plastics industry.
Introduction of the Standard
The standard aims to establish a quality management and traceability system for the plastic recycling industry. Its main objectives are as follows:
1. Establish a source and process traceability mechanism
Establish a traceability mechanism covering all links of waste plastic generation, collection, pretreatment, recycling, and reutilization, so as to realize compliance supervision over the entire process.
2. Ensure and improve the quality of recycled plastics
Track the source of waste plastics through the source traceability mechanism, and improve sorting quality in conjunction with the quality classification mechanism for waste plastics, thereby ensuring and enhancing the quality of recycled plastics.
3. Achieve pollution control
Monitor the pollution control level in each link of waste plastic recycling through the process traceability mechanism, thereby ensuring that pollution is controllable throughout the entire waste plastic recycling process and guaranteeing the green attributes of recycled plastics.
4. Achieve controllable and measurable carbon emissions
Monitor the carbon emission level throughout the entire process of waste plastics through the process traceability mechanism, guide recycling enterprises to select more reasonable recycling processes, and verify the carbon emission performance of the entire recycling process in conjunction with the calculation method for carbon emission factors of plastic recycling.
5. Identification of recycled content
Through the process traceability mechanism, determine the material flow from waste plastics to recycled plastics and the application proportion in products, and confirm the true waste plastic sources of recycled plastics derived from physical recycling and chemical recycling. This not only prevents the passing off of virgin plastics as recycled plastics but also verifies the actual proportion of recycled content in recycled plastic products.
6. Promote the use of recycled plastics
By identifying the proportion of recycled content used, and in conjunction with subsequent policies and regulations involving mandatory proportions of recycled content in plastic products, stimulate the demand for recycled plastics, thereby increasing the plastic recycling rate.
7. Verify the improvement performance of "design for recycling"
Through the traceability mechanism, verify whether the improved design of plastic products has actually enhanced the quality of recycled plastics, achieved pollution control and carbon emission reduction performance, and promoted the use of recycled plastics. This is to determine whether the design scheme adapts to the current situation and development needs of the industry, and whether it maintains the balance between the environmental benefits and resource benefits of recycled plastics.
Siginificance
The national standard Requirements for Production and Sales Management System of Recycled Plastics is an essential foundational tool for building a green circular industry of plastics, with specific manifestations as follows:
It connects all links of the plastic circular industry chain, serving both for enterprises' self-inspection and for supervision across the entire industry;
It is conducive to promoting the design of plastics products for easy recycling and regeneration, improving the quality of recycled plastics, and verifying the performance of such improvements;
Combined with standards related to carbon emission reduction calculation methods, it enables the verification of carbon emission reduction performance and its acceptance by upstream and downstream industry chains, facilitating the implementation of "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality" policies;
When integrated with carbon emission rights trading, it helps promote the establishment of a sustainable commercial operation model for chemical recycling;
It can assist in the implementation of various policies, regulations, and standards for cleaner production, contributing to the governance of plastic pollution from the perspective of the entire plastic industry chain;
It is beneficial to boosting market confidence and guiding governments and enterprises toward green procurement and green consumption.
