The historical role and future trends of plastic: From "head of convenience" to "circular revolution" | ChinaReplas T&P 2025

• 1950s-1970s: The darling of the industrial revolution
  Since its mass production in the 1950s, plastic has quickly penetrated into core areas such as packaging, construction, and medical care with its advantages of lightness, durability and low cost, and has become a symbol of modern industrial civilization. By 2019, the world's annual plastic production has reached 460 million tons, a 230-fold increase from 70 years ago. During this period, plastic was regarded as the "head of convenience" and promoted the globalization of consumerism.
• 1980s-2010s: The Detonator of Environmental Crisis
  With the proliferation of disposable plastic products, plastic pollution problems are gradually emerging. Data in 2017 showed that only 6% of plastics were recycled, and more than 80% became waste in landfill or environment, and even formed a "Pacific garbage belt". Plastics have changed from "solution" to "problem itself", and its non-degradability poses a threat to marine ecology and human health, becoming the focus of world environmental governance.
• 2020s to the present: A test site for transformation of circular economy
  In recent years, the world has begun to explore sustainable paths for plastics. The EU has promoted the use of recycled plastics through the Circular Economy Plastics Strategy, and China proposed that the production of recycled plastics will reach 23 million tons during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The rise of chemical recycling technologies (such as pyrolysis, gasification) and degradable materials (PLA, PBAT), It marks the transformation of the plastics industry to a "closed loop cycle".

• Technical breakthrough : Promote a new pattern of plastic recycling. One of the core issues of plastic pollution is Low recovery rate and insufficient recycling quality . Traditional machinery recycling exists Degradable loss and Impurity pollution Problem, it is difficult to meet the needs of food-grade and high-performance plastics. In recent years, Chemical recycling, intelligent sorting and material innovation New technologies such as this are reshaping the industry landscape. Europe is at the forefront of chemical recycling, with production capacity expected to double to 540,000 tons in 2026; US companies invest more than US$7 billion to develop recycled plastic products, such as food grade rPET .

• Policy orientation : The world increases the proportion of recycled materials and reduces the amount of plastics. The forced force of policies and regulations is the core driving force for the transformation of the plastics industry, the world Countries are setting stricter targets for recycling plastic utilization and plastic reduction . For example, the EU requires plastic packaging to contain 30% recycled materials by 2030, and China has passed the "plastic ban" and Tax leverage Forces industry upgrade.

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Have been It is known as one of the great inventions of the 20th century. From food packaging to medical devices, from building materials to electronic products, plastics are everywhere and have become a symbol of modern civilization. However, as the world's plastic production exceeds 400 million tons, its non-degradable properties have also brought about environmental crises - marine garbage belts, microplastic pollution, and ecological chain damage. Plastics have gradually become "public enemy of the environment" from "convenience".

Today, the world is standing at the intersection of plastic civilization: Should we continue to rely on this "double-edged sword" material, or should we promote its transformation to a circular economy through technological innovation and policy guidance? March 19, 2025, ChinaReplas T&P 2025 The 3rd Forum on the Prevention and Control of Plastic Pollution It will kick off in Suzhou. This forum "Philosophy about Plastics" As the theme, we will deeply explore the historical role of plastics, economic dilemma and world governance path, aiming to provide scientific logic and innovative solutions for plastic pollution control in China and the world.