Disposable degradable products become hot-selling products

According to the big database, the demand and market size of China's biodegradable plastics industry are increasing year by year. The demand has increased from 220,000 tons in 2012 to 520,000 tons in 2019, with a compound growth rate of 13.08% and a year-on-year increase of 15.56% in 2019; The market size increased from 2.512 billion yuan in 2012 to 6.147 billion yuan in 2019, with a compound growth rate of 13.64% and a year-on-year increase of 19.59% in 2019.

According to the data, non-degradable disposable plastics have unstable dissolution characteristics. Generally, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride are used as raw materials. If they are allowed to degrade naturally, it will take about 200 years, which will cause great harm to soil and rivers. Degradable products are more conducive to environmental protection, recycling, and degradable plastics can be naturally degraded in a short period of time, eventually forming carbon dioxide and water, with little impact on the human body and the natural environment.

According to the reporter's observation, currently popular and widely used disposable degradable products on the market include lunch boxes, straws, garbage bags, etc. Materials can be divided into two types, one is made of natural materials, such as paper products, straw, corn starch, etc.; the other is composed of degradable plastics as the main component, adding starch, photosensitizers and other substances. The requirements for tableware that can be marked as "degradable" include: the biodegradation rate must reach more than 60%, and the starch content of degradable tableware with starch components must not be less than 40%.

Most of the product descriptions of degradable lunch boxes indicate that they are made of food-grade plant materials such as wheat straw, corn starch, and sugarcane pulp, with smooth surface, beautiful appearance and complete sizes. pollute.

Disposable degradable straws are also a popular product in degradable tableware, most of which are sold to major beverage stores. According to the reporter, the beverage giant Starbucks has begun to use degradable straws. Most of the degradable straws use imported food-grade materials, which are resistant to high temperature and not easy to soften. Most of them are mainly primary colors and whites on the market. According to a salesperson, there are differences in the use time of degradable straws in beverages at different temperatures. At room temperature of 30°C, it can be used for about 12 hours; when the temperature is between 30°C and 50°C, it can be used for about 4 hours; It is not recommended to use above 50°C.

As for degradable garbage bags, they are also popular on e-commerce platforms due to the high demand for households. Degradable garbage bags generally use fully degradable materials (starch + degradable bio-based PBAT + PLA). According to the product description, under composting conditions, it can be completely dissolved into water, carbon dioxide and organic fertilizer in about 180 days. It is roughly divided into "flat mouth" and "vest" in the market.

In addition to the above three products, there are also degradable cutlery, cups, etc., which are hot-selling products.