10. China

PCR Plastic Packaging Regulations
Global

10.1 Regulatory Overview

China until recently bought 45 percent of the world’s plastic waste despite having no infrastructure in place to effectively process it. The country, which has long been a dumping ground for the rest of the world’s recycling, in 2017 decided to stop importing virtually all recyclables [1], and attention has strongly raised towards more environmentally conscious behavior among consumers. The lack of efficient collection and sorting systems makes recycling processes rather critical insofar an effective control of the input stream would be difficult to achieve.

There is no formal commitment by the Chinese Health Authorities to address recycled food contact plastics, but announcements are often made in public speeches that the Chinese National Health Commission is willing to address this topic in the future. 

The Chinese Authorities have issued, in 2021, GB standards for recycling PE and PP [2], but the food applications are still out of the scope of these standards.

China - Regulatory Landscape

10.2 References

1. 2018-7 White Paper_Waste360_China Import Regulations Impact.pdf (recyclerightlancaster.org)

2. China Polyethylene PE Standards,GB standards,english version translation, price,purchase,download