Release Date : 2016/9/5 10:23:07

The reporter recently found in an interview: Most supermarket promoters and consumers have a basic understanding of the small triangles at the bottom of plastic containers. Some well-known brands have not even labeled this logo on the food packaging, and even some brands have different flavors of the same type. Product identification is also treated separately.
The problem of improper use of plastic containers may cause harm to the body. In recent interviews, the reporter found that it is difficult to say the meaning of the logo on the bottom of the plastic container, whether it is an ordinary citizen or a promoter in a large supermarket. Plastic containers sold in some very large supermarkets do not even have a plastic logo with a material at all.

Basic unattended plastic logo

In the interview, the reporter found that on the one hand, the consumer awareness of the terminal is weak. On the other hand, the degree of attention paid by the merchants is also uneven. In an interview with several large supermarkets in Harbin, the reporter found that the most standardized plastic labeling is the drinking water industry, including Nestlé, Nongfu Spring, Baile, Kangshifu, Uniform and many other brands of drinking water. At the bottom of the bottle is marked ?? #23383; The labeling of the edible oil industry is also relatively standardized, including the mainstream edible oil brands such as Arowana, Luhua and Fulinmen. Half of the tea drinks sold in the supermarket are not labeled, such as Master Kong series tea drinks. As for carbonated beverages, whether it is Coca-Cola or Pepsi and Sprite, Mirinda, Eye-catching and other sub-brands, there is no triangular number icon on the bottom of the plastic bottle. There is no logo on the bottom of the plastic bottle, which means that consumers cannot understand the material of the plastic bottle. Repeated or improper use is likely to affect health.

In addition, the reporter also found that many plastic drinking water cups are not marked with plastic signs, people do not know what materials are made of these cups. It is also impossible to know if these plastic containers can be heated and eaten. At the same time, the reporter also found that the bottom marks of some beverages, especially colored drinks, are very vague. If you don't look carefully, you can't see the number at the bottom of the bottle.

The seemingly chaotic market is really a missing standard. It is understood that at present, marking plastic signs on plastic containers is not a mandatory measure in China. Therefore, some manufacturers do not carry out specification marking on their products. Secondly, the relevant parties did not popularize the meaning of the logo, causing some consumers who are not aware of it to use the plastic container incorrectly.

China has not yet mandatory labeling

According to Dr. Bai Xuan, director of the Key Laboratory of Polymer Functional Materials at Heilongjiang University, the triangular mark on the bottom of plastic products is equivalent to the product? #36523;证证?#12290; Triangle consisting of three arrows, meaning? #21487;Recycling Reuse? #12290; In addition, the numbers in the triangle, such as ?#65292; are digital signs. Plastic digital signs range from 1 to 7, each of which represents a plastic material, primarily for ease of recycling and for understanding its conditions of use.

Bai Xuan said that the logo originated in the United States and is gradually being used by various countries. As early as 1996, China issued the "Recycling Mark for Plastic Packaging Products" (GB/T16288-1966). Some formal big-brand enterprises have recently begun to label recycling products in order to facilitate the recycling of plastic products. However, because the labeling of plastic products is not mandatory, many manufacturers have not marked the bottle material.

The reporter learned that the plastic logo is mainly for recycling and reuse. If the consumer carefully reads the label, it can also use this logo to know what kind of plastic material is used and what environment should be used, but the facts In fact, the publicity of this logo is insufficient for both government departments and enterprises, which makes consumers' understanding of this gap almost blank.

Which plastic containers can be reused? What should you pay attention to when recycling plastic containers? What are the meanings of 1 to 7 in the plastic logo? In the interview, the experts answered this question.

Experts explain the plastic logo

According to Bai Xuan, the plastic container that needs to be reused is preferably made of PP material. The melting point of this material is as high as 167 degrees. It is the only plastic container that can be placed in a microwave oven and reused after careful cleaning. Plastic containers made of other materials need to pay attention to the use environment when re-used, and some plastic containers are not recommended for reuse or for use on food packaging. As for the problems that should be paid attention to when using plastic containers, you can find the answer on the plastic logo, marked with ?? #30340; the recycling logo indicates that its main manufacturing material is PET. At present, most of the bottled water and beverages on the market are made of this material. The container made of this material has high transparency, others can see the contents inside at a glance; acid and alkali resistant, can hold various acidic juices, carbonated drinks; high water resistance, not easy to seep, if only It is very suitable for bottles with low-temperature drinks, which is why it is favored by beverage companies and is often used to hold a variety of juices, water, tea and other beverages. However, it only heats up to 70 ° C. It is only suitable for warm drinks or cold drinks. It is easy to deform when it is filled with high temperature liquid or heated. It can cause harmful substances to be melted out and is not suitable for recycling.

It is marked with ??#30340; the reuse mark indicates that its main manufacturing material is HDPE. Plastic containers produced from this material are suitable for cleaning products, bath products, and the like. Some soy sauce and yoghurt milk-white packaging products are made of this material. These containers are usually not easy to clean, and it is easy to leave the original cleaning products and become a hotbed of bacteria. It is best not to recycle them. Like the PET material, the low melting point is not suitable for high temperature liquids.

It is marked with ??#30340; the reuse mark indicates that its main manufacturing material is PVC. This material is mainly used in the manufacture of engineering water pipes, and is rarely used in food packaging. This material is prone to harmful substances at high temperatures, and even it is released during the manufacturing process.

It is marked with ??#30340; the reuse mark indicates that its main manufacturing material is LDPE. This material is mostly used in the manufacture of plastic wrap, plastic film and other products. The plastic wrap made of this material should be careful not to wrap it on the surface of the food and heat it in the microwave oven. The heat resistance of LDPE is not strong. The wrap film produced by this material usually has a hot melt phenomenon when the temperature exceeds 110 degrees. Some plastic preparations that the human body cannot decompose.

It is marked with ??#30340; the main manufacturing material for recycling it is PP. The plastic container made of this material has good gas permeability, high heat resistance temperature and high impact resistance, strong mechanical properties, resistance to various organic solvents and acid-base corrosion. It is mostly used in plastic containers such as microwave lunch boxes and baby bottles. Plastic containers made from PP materials are the only ones that can be placed in a microwave for heating and can be reused after careful cleaning. However, some microwave lunch box cases are made of No. 5 PP, but the cover is made of No. 1 PE, so it cannot be placed in the microwave oven together with the box.

It is marked with ??#30340; the reuse mark indicates that its main manufacturing material is PS. Plastic containers produced from such materials are commonly found in bowls of instant noodles, snack boxes, and the like. The material cannot be placed in a microwave oven, nor can it be used to hold strong acids (such as orange juice) and strong alkaline substances, because it will decompose polystyrene which is not good for the human body. Therefore, do not pack hot food when packing lunch boxes.

It is marked with ??#30340; the main manufacturing material for reusing the logo is PC: common kettle, space cup, bottle and so on. Due to incomplete reaction in the production process, plastic containers made of this material are prone to release toxic substances such as bisphenol A. Plastic containers made of this material should be avoided to contain food.