—— A green future under policy-driven, brand action and industrial chain restructuring

1. Global plastic ban policy: from restriction to coercion, recycled materials become a rigid need

In recent years, the global plastic pollution control has entered an accelerated period, the policy from "restricted use" to "forced regeneration" upgrade, promoting the recycled plastics from the edge option to the industry needs.

1. The European Union leads the legislative change

As a pioneer in global environmental policy, the EU systematically promotes the application of recycled plastics through a number of regulations. For example, the proportion of recycled materials in PET bottles should reach 25% by 2025, increase to 30% by 2030, and further extend to areas such as automotive manufacturing, requiring the use of 25% of recycled materials. In addition, the EU revision to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation clearly states that the minimum proportion of recycled plastics in all types of packaging by 2030, such as PET contact sensitive packaging, should contain 30% recycled materials. These policies not only cover the packaging field, but also force enterprises to transform through the binding force of the whole industrial chain.

2. The United States

Some states in the United States require the proportion of recycled materials in plastic packaging, Japan sets recycling targets through the Plastic Resource Recycling Promotion Law, and South Korea, Thailand and other countries also introduce similar regulations. China, on the other hand, adopted the Action Plan for Promoting Large-scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods for New Goods and the "dual-carbon" policy to clarify the application goals of renewable plastics in automobiles, home appliances and other fields, so as to provide policy dividends for the industry.

3. Policy-driven market expansion

The global rPET (recycled polyester) market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 10.6%, reaching us $11.09 billion in 2024. Policy requirements resonate with market demand, pushing recycled plastics from "optional" to "required".

2. Global brand action: Green supply chain reshaping industry logic

Through strategic commitment and technical cooperation, the head enterprises will bring recycled plastics into the core supply chain, forming a pattern of driving industrial upgrading from the demand side.

1. Brand commitment drives the explosion of demand

Coca-Cola and Pepsi promise 100% recyclable packaging by 2030; ZARA plans to increase the use of recycled polyester to 40% by 2025. These commitments not only enhance the brand image, but also directly stimulate the expansion of recycled plastic production capacity. For example, an international FMCG giant cooperated with Sinopec to develop PCR (post-consumption regeneration) resin, and customized demand drives technology iteration.

2. Technical cooperation to accelerate the application of high-value technology

Brand owners have deep cooperation with material enterprises to promote the penetration of recycled plastics from low-end products to high-end fields. For example, a domestic brand has improved the performance of recycled particles to close to the level of native materials, through the "key technology of high-quality regeneration of waste polystyrene foam", and applied it to high-end household appliances and automotive parts. In addition, breakthroughs in chemical recovery technology (such as biological enzymatic lysis process) provide new paths for the treatment of complex waste and further expand application scenarios.

3. Market stratification to create diversified value

The quality requirements of high-end clothing for recycled fiber create an exclusive certification system, while the packaging field relies on the control ability of low-cost raw materials. This stratified competition enables enterprises with both technical advantages and cost control ability to take the first opportunity.

3. National goal: policy incentive and standard system two-wheel drive

Countries have provided systematic support to the recycled plastics industry through legislation, subsidies and standard systems.

1. China: From the "double-carbon" goal to industrial upgrading

China's 14th Five-Year Plan clearly calls to strengthen the control of plastic pollution, with the annual output value of the waste recycling industry reaching 5 trillion yuan by 2025. The policy encourages the use of automotive and recycled materials through tax incentives and subsidies for equipment renewal. For example, the Proposal to Promote the Development of the Regenerative Plastics Industry suggests that a minimum proportion of 5% of recycled materials should be used in areas such as building insulation materials, gradually rising to the international level.

2. Eu: the whole industrial chain constraints under the circular economy strategy

The ELV regulations (End-of-Life Vehicles) force automakers to use recycled plastics, and has also set up a pilot "zero-carbon park" to integrate recycling, recycling and application links to form a closed-loop industrial chain.

3. Standardization construction to solve the industry's pain points

At present, the recycled plastics industry is facing challenges such as lack of standards and great difficulty in quality control. China is promoting the establishment of a national standard system for recyclable materials, covering technical specifications, quality certification and testing services, and providing unified technical support for enterprises. The EU has promoted the upgrade of recycled materials from "usable" to "easy to use" by extending the warranty period and optimizing the fire protection performance.

4. Industry objective: technology innovation and scale application go together

The recycled plastic industry is transforming from decentralized recycling to large-scale and high-value, and technological innovation and industrial chain integration have become the core driving force.

1. Competition between physical recovery and chemical recycling technology

-Physical recovery: to achieve high-value conversion of "bottle-to-bottle" and "bottle-to-silk" through efficient sorting, cleaning and modification techniques. For example, domestic enterprises reduce the physical recovery cost through the foam pretreatment process.

-Chemical recovery: decompose complex wastes (such as mixed plastics and fibers) into single ones, breaking through the purity limit of physical recovery. Wanhua Chemical and other enterprises are exploring the industrial application of biological enzymatic lysis technology.

2. Vertical integration mode to improve the efficiency

Inke Recycling has built an integrated mode of "recycling, recycling and utilization", and its plastic capacity reducing machine has been applied in more than 80 countries around the world to solve the problems of recycling and transportation. China Recycling Group cooperates with JD Logistics to optimize the supply chain management of renewable resources and reduce circulation costs.

3. Continuous expansion of application scenarios

Recycled plastics have been extended from traditional packaging to automotive, electronics, building materials and other fields. For example, a new energy vehicle brand uses recycled PC / ABS alloy to make battery protective shells, reducing costs by 15% and reducing carbon emissions by 20%.

5. Challenges and outlook: from policy dividend to market maturity

Despite the broad prospects, the recycled plastics industry still needs to break through the three major bottlenecks:

1. Balance between cost and technology: Short-term cost rise and long technology verification cycle restrict the enthusiasm of enterprises, and they need to reduce costs through policy subsidies and large-scale production.

2. The recycling system needs to be improved: the recovery rate of waste plastics in China is less than 30%, and a classified recycling network and a digital traceability system need to be established.

3. Improve consumer awareness: Enhance public trust and choice willingness of recycled materials through green logo certification and brand publicity.

future expectations:

-Policy and market two-wheel drive: The global plastic ban policy and brand demand will continue to release the market space, and it is expected that the proportion of recycled plastics in raw materials will increase significantly in 2030.

-Technological breakthrough and reshaping the pattern: The maturity of chemical recycling technology will open up a new market for mixed waste treatment, and promote the industry to upgrade to the full category of recycling.

-Ecological formation of circular economy: Through the construction of "zero-carbon park" and industrial alliance, a closed-loop system integrating recycling, regeneration and application will be formed.

Epilogue

The upgrading of the global plastic ban policy and the deepening of the brand green strategy are pushing the recycled plastics industry to a historic inflection point. Under the resonance of policy coercion, demand traction and technological breakthroughs, recycled plastics is not only an environmental issue, but also a certain business opportunity. In the future, the industry needs to continue to make breakthroughs in standardization, scale and high value, and provide core support for the global circular economy and carbon neutral goals.