"Greenization" of Paper Packaging - Practice of Shengda Group (I)

Abstract: This paper analyzes the current development situation of paper packaging industry and the problems in the industry from the aspects of resource issues, environmental protection issues and industry technology level, and focuses on the ideas and practices of Shengda Group on the development of circular economy and the promotion of green packaging. Shengda Group is mainly through the upward extension of the industrial chain, to achieve industrial integration, vigorously implement the recycling economy in the production process, promote the healthy development of the industry, in technology research and development, continue to develop low-energy high-quality aspects, and ultimately achieve circular economy and green package.

Keywords: recycling economy green packaging

I. Overview of the development of the paper packaging industry and problems in the industry

Due to its good environmental performance, paper packaging is widely used in food, chemical, pharmaceutical, building materials, home appliances and other industries. It is the largest industry in the packaging industry in China. It is a great industry and a sunrise industry. Over the past 20 years of reform and opening up, through unremitting technological progress, China's paper packaging industry has grown rapidly. Paper packaging products account for nearly 30% of the total output value of the packaging industry and have become the largest packaging industry. The consumption of packaging paper and paperboard in China accounts for more than 50% of the total volume of products in the paper industry. Paper consumption in the Chinese market is 14% of the global total, ranking second in the world after the United States. Although China's paper packaging industry has developed rapidly in recent years and the market space is huge, compared with foreign developed countries, China's paper packaging industry still has a certain gap in terms of resources, environmental protection, and technical level.

1, resource issues.

For a long time, the development of wood pulp in our country has been slow. At the same time, the development of forestry and paper industry has been separated from each other. The paper industry lacks strong forestry support. Judging from the market space, China still has a lot of room for development in terms of the demand for paper products. The world's per capita annual consumption is 52 kilograms, and China currently has only 29 kilograms, which has not yet reached the world average and is only US 1/10. If China's per capita consumption reaches the world average, its total consumption will increase by another 30 million tons. Such a huge market potential is unmatched by any other country. According to the analysis of demand for non-living paper and paperboard by relevant departments of news, publishing, printing, packaging, etc., the total paper and paperboard consumption will reach 50 million tons in 2005, an average annual increase of 6.8% from 2000, and the per capita consumption will be 38 kg. . Such a rapid growth rate must be based on good resources. However, at present, there is a serious shortage of forest resources in China. At the same time, natural forest protection projects are started. The supply of domestic pulp is reduced and the rapid growth of paper products cannot be met. At present, over 90% of China's domestic papermaking companies rely on imported OCC and waste paper. In 2004, China imported 7.187 million tons of pulp, an increase of 21.28% year-on-year; imported waste paper was approximately 12 million tons, an increase of 37.5% year-on-year. China's annual imports of wood pulp, paper and paperboard, waste paper use up to 8 billion US dollars. It can be seen that the shortage of resources in China has affected the benefits of the paper products industry to a large extent, and to a certain extent, it has limited the rapid development of enterprises.

2. The problem of environmental protection is outstanding and the capital investment is insufficient.

In recent years, with the continuous development and progress of society, people are paying more and more attention to environmental protection issues. Many companies are restricted in the development process because of environmental issues, especially the upstream papermaking industry, which is closely related to the paper packaging industry. The cost of pollution control in small-scale paper mills is very high. To solve the problem of waste water pollution, a large amount of capital investment is needed, frequently costing several million yuan, or even tens of millions of yuan, which brings a lot of economic pressure to the company. Some companies have to be obliged for environmental reasons. Discontinued. At the same time, the water pollution caused by papermaking companies has also brought great economic losses to the country and the government. The funds invested by the country in managing water pollution every year are not small numbers. The wastewater discharge rate of the papermaking and paper product industries at and above the county level in the country accounts for about 10.8% of the total national discharge. The wastewater discharge standard amount only accounts for 14% of the papermaking wastewater discharge, second only to the chemical industry and the metallurgical industry. Therefore, the development of the paper packaging industry is constrained by the relatively large number of environmental issues. This problem requires the active participation of enterprises in the industry, but also the relevant departments of the state to increase management and increase investment.

3. The overall level of technology is low, and research input is not strong, resulting in a low level of vicious competition.

At present, there are many papermaking and paper packaging companies, but their technical levels are uneven. Small-scale enterprises also occupy a relatively large proportion in the industry, and the overall level of technology is relatively low. There are about 6,000 pulp, paper and paper products enterprises across the industry, but the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises is relatively large. The average monthly industrial output value of the industry is less than 4 million yuan. Most papermaking enterprises in China mainly produce ordinary low-grade papers. The production capacity of medium and high-grade papers is seriously insufficient. The specialty papers and art papers mainly rely on imports. The general small-scale enterprises are outdated equipment, low technological level, low energy consumption and high output. The overall energy consumption per ton of paper and paperboard by domestic enterprises is twice that of the world average, and the technical level of industrial workers in the paper products industry is also It needs further improvement. The production equipment currently used by many small businesses is the old one eliminated by some large and medium-sized enterprises. Some of the production equipment of the 1970s are still visible in small enterprises. They also have a very low level in production technology and environmental protection technologies. Some small paper packaging companies use small, low-speed production equipment and lack core technologies. Insufficient scientific research investment, many companies are in a low level of competition, only fight prices with opponents, not seeking product quality and product quality, resulting in low levels of vicious competition. In participating in the international market competition, the competitiveness of such enterprises is very low, and it is also unfavorable for the improvement of the technical level of the entire industry. In short, the domestic papermaking and paper packaging industry has poor core competitiveness due to the equipment, the technical level of industrial workers, and research and development investment.

In summary, after decades of rapid development, China's paper packaging is now at a crossroads. How to make the paper packaging industry sustainable, rapid, and healthy development is worthy of consideration by everyone in the industry. Shengda Group has accumulated rich experience in the business process of more than two decades, and has deeply realized that developing a recycling economy and advocating green packaging are the best way out for the development of the paper packaging industry. In this regard, Shengda Group also has its own ideas and practices.

(to be continued)