近年来,再生塑料市场正由传统的低价替代向环保减碳等方面推动的高品质回收与再利用转变。阿格斯就大家比较关心的几个问题在由拾柴环境主办的第二届硬塑回收峰会前对国龙环保董事长郭家万和拾柴的创始人王韧进行了访谈:

  • 中国再生塑料出口前景
  • 再生塑料的食品接触应用
  • 欧盟一次性塑料指令中的“镜像条款”等

您认为出口市场对您的产品有多少需求(以及针对哪些产品 - rPET、rHDPE、 rPP? 包装等级? ) ...主要出口市场是什么?

国龙郭家万:再生塑料市场应用主要是国际品牌客户的需求,大品牌企业对环保再生产品的使用,是主动履行社会责任,通过企业的行动推动废旧塑料的回收利用。在中国市场上 国际品牌企业在这两年来一直在测试,小批量试用再生塑料,在东南亚港澳市场上开始投送再生塑料包装产品,也有很多国际品牌企业生产基地在中国,他们的出口产品基本开始使用再生塑料,在日化领域是以rHDPE、rPP为主,在食品包装上是以rPET为主而且都是需要达到食品级要求,并需要取得FDA、EFSA认证!


大多数参与者都在关注回收的食品接触材料,但中国目前不允许在食品接触应用中使用回收材料。在这种情况下,中国回收商应如何发展业务?热解是否是中国回收商的合适途径?

拾柴环境王韧:目前,中国PET回收企业的高价值产品应用主要方向是纺织纤维,工业丝和其他非食品级应用,食品级rPET产品也可以满足一些个人护理产品的特殊需求,其他食品级rPET供应还包括出口中国香港和海外市场。
热裂解在中国还在探索阶段,今年国内宣布了几个商业化项目的建设,但其运行仍有待时日,仍需市场验证。今年8月27-28日我们在上海会有一个国际硬质聚烯烃回收峰会,其中就有化学回收和热解的相关议题,大家有兴趣的可以关注参与。


欧盟正在考虑在《一次性塑料指令》中加入“镜像条款”。这意味着,欧盟外的回收商向欧盟出口材料并希望这些材料计入欧盟再生含量目标时,将被要求达到与欧洲回收商相同的原料、工艺和环境标准。你预计这一政策会如何发展?你认为这会对你的业务产生什么影响?


国龙郭家万:对于国龙再生塑料来说是没有难度的,因为国龙再生的工艺技术,生产设备,环境标准都是与欧洲相同的,也是使用消费后PCR原料,这几年来,我们经过了二十多家国际品牌公司对产品的检测,验厂,生产环境等各项要求测试,安全达到他们的要求,镜像条款对于国龙再生来说是可以做到的。但对于中国很多再生企业恐怕一定的限制。如果欧盟推动这个政策,也许会通过验厂验证“一企一策”的认证许可。

作为国内回收行业的领先企业,国龙未来的发展目标是什么,近期是否有计划投资化学法回收领域?

国龙郭家万:国龙再生经过十年的发展,现在已经建立了相当大的产能,为一系列不同的用途生产回收材料(见表)。我们成功实施了涵盖食品级和工业级产品的全产业链商业模式。

 Recycling type  Capacity (t/yr)
 Food-grade rPET    60,000
 Food-grade rHDPE   20,000
 Food-grade rPP    20,000
 Pipe grade recyclates   80,000
 Industrial grade  rHDPE    20,000


您是否预计在不久的将来中国食品包装市场将开始发展再生材料市场(即法规变化)?您预计中国还会出现哪些法规变化来支持回收行业?

拾柴环境王韧:中国正在研究包装应用再生材料的安全性,这不仅仅包括再生塑料,还包括再生金属,比如易拉罐是否可以使用再生铝。本地市场也在等待相关的文件出台。
目前,国家已经出台以旧换新政策,反向发票开票政策等等,都对回收行业扩大起到促进作用,相信在垃圾分类领域,可能将是后期政府政策出台的方向。当然,建立完整的回收体系需要更多实施战略,以及更多时间来摸索发展路径和进行建设。

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Houston, 12 September (Argus) — Higher volumes of ethylbenzene (EB) into gasoline blending a year ago has led to a credit shortage, pushing prices to their highest levels since March 2021. In 2022 and 2023, US Gulf coast (USGC) naphtha inventories were long as US naphtha exports declined from 400,000-500,000b/d pre-pandemic to 100,000-200,000b/d. Over the same span of time, refiners and blenders dropped excess naphtha, a sub-octane blendstock, into the gasoline pool. This blend of gasoline spurred demand for high-octane blendstocks like EB, toluene and mixed xylenes into gasoline blending. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires gasoline with benzene content above a certain threshold to be offset by a credit generated by refining compliant gasoline. The elevated blending of EB exhausted the supply of benzene credits on the open market, which bled into 2024. Credits traded near 100¢/USG early in 2024 and rose to as high as 190¢/USG over the summer. Values now span buyer interest at 160¢/USG and seller interest at 190¢/USG. The compliance deadline for benzene credit submission is set for 31 March 2025, in which refiners must mass-balance their production over a given year and either face a credit surplus for being over-compliant or a shortage and therefore will need to procure credits on the open market. By Jake Caldwell and Matthew Cope Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Houston, 10 September (Argus) — The US Securities and Exchange Commission has fined Keurig Dr Pepper $1.5mn for inaccurately claiming that its plastic coffee pods were recyclable in two of its annual financial reports. In its 2019 and 2020 annual reports, Keurig Dr Pepper claimed that it had verified that K-Cup pods could be recycled through testing. According to the SEC, Keurig did not disclose to investors that two of the largest recycling companies in the US said that they would not accept K-Cup pod waste, and believed that curbside recycling of the pods was unfeasible. The small size of coffee pods makes them difficult to sort at many older material recovery facilities (MRFs), which can prevent recycling. The SEC argued that Keurig therefore violated Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Keurig agreed to a cease-and-desist order from the SEC and to pay a civil penalty of $1.5mn, without admitting or denying the SEC's findings. "Public companies must ensure that the reports they file with the SEC are complete and accurate," Boston Regional Associate Director of the SEC John Dugan said. In 2022, Keurig Dr Pepper settled a $10mn lawsuit with a California resident after the plaintiff alleged that marketing about the recyclability of its signature K-Cups was false or misleading. The plaintiff said that the pods were "inevitably" contaminated by foil and food waste, and that municipal recycling facilities could not effectively recycle the pods. By Zach Kluver Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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