Green packaging can also be called pollution-free packaging and friends of the environment packaging, refers to the ecological environment and human health harmless, reusable and renewable, in line with the sustainable development of packaging. Its idea has two meanings: one is to protect the environment, and the other is to save resources. The two go hand in hand and cannot be separated. Environmental protection is the core, and resource conservation is closely related to environmental protection, because resource conservation can reduce waste, in fact, is to protect the environment from the source.
From a technical point of view, the green packaging refers to the natural plant and associated minerals as raw material to develop the ecological environment and human health is harmless in pairs, is conducive to recycling, easy degradation, a kind of environmentally friendly packaging of sustainable development, that is, its packaging products from raw materials selection, product manufacturing to use and abandoned the whole life cycle, all should meet the requirements of the ecological environment protection should be green packaging materials, packaging design, and to develop the three aspects of green packaging industry and realize the green packaging
Specifically, green packaging should have the following meanings:
- Implement packaging reduction. Green packaging should be the appropriate package with the least amount of consumption under the condition of satisfying the functions of protection, convenience and sales. Europe and the United States and other countries will reduce packaging as the development of harmless packaging measures.
- The packaging should be easy to Reuse or Recycle. Through repeated use, or through recycling waste, production of recycled products, incineration using heat energy, composting to improve the soil, and other measures, to achieve the purpose of recycling. Not only does not pollute the environment but also can make full use of the resources.
- Packaging waste degradation can corrupt (Degradable).In order not to form permanent waste, non-recyclable packaging waste should be decomposed and decomposed to improve the soil. All the industrial countries in the world attach great importance to the development of biodegradable or photodegradable packaging materials. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Degradable is now in the 21st century, the development of the world recognized green packaging principle of 3 R and 1 D.
- Packaging materials should be non-toxic and harmless to humans and organisms. Packaging materials should not contain toxic substances or toxic substances should be controlled below the relevant standards.
- During the whole life cycle of packaging products, environmental pollution or public hazards should not be caused. That is to say, the whole life process of packaging products, from the raw material collection, material processing, product manufacturing, product use, waste recycling and recycling to final treatment, should not cause public hazards to human body and environment.
In the above meaning of green packaging, the first four points should be the requirements that green packaging must have, and the last point is the ideal and highest requirements for green packaging from the perspective of system engineering based on life cycle evaluation. From the above analysis, green packaging can be defined as: green packaging is able to recycle, recycle or degrade decay, and in the whole life cycle of the product does not cause public hazards to the human body and the environment.
