On February 1st, 2021, the General Rules for Assessing Easy-to-Collect and Easy-to-Recycle Designs of Plastic Products (T/CRRA 0302-2020) took effect officially. Formulated by members of the Green Recycled Plastic Supply Chain Joint Working Group (GRPG) and published by the China National Resources Recycling Association, it starts a standard system dedicated to promoting the easy-to-collect and easy-to-recycle (or “2E”) designs of plastic products, aiming to maximize the recycling and high-value use of waste plastics in China.
China is the world's largest producer and consumer of plastics. In 2019, the country produced roughly 81.84 million tons of plastics. However, considering it may take hundreds or even thousands of years for plastics to degrade in the natural environment, the pollution caused by plastics has posed a severe and challenging threat.
In recent years, with the joint efforts of authorities, industry associations and businesses, China has made considerable progress in addressing plastic pollution. In 2019, for instance, over 30 percent of waste plastics in China were recycled.
Nevertheless, at present, plastic products are quite diversified and complicated in terms of their materials, colors, labels and even shapes, which largely undermines the efficiency and quality of plastic recycling. This standard system, as the first of its kind in China, will shore up previous endeavors by providing norms for the design of plastic products.
The General Rules provides the indicator system and methodology for assessing the 2E designs of plastic products, and can be used to guide the design and assessment of plastic products. Notably, it does not apply to degradable plastic products and plastic products which are listed in the National Inventory of Hazardous Wastes.
In the next step, specific implementing rules targeting different industries, including beverage packaging, packaging of dairy products, etc., will be formulated and published to facilitate industry compliance.
