China is working to develop "green packaging" as part of its efforts to build an environmentally friendly society, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said yesterday.

 

He said this while referring to the vast growth of packaging waste at the World Packaging Conference, which opened in Beijing yesterday.

 

"The huge increase in packaging waste has become a worldwide problem that deserves great attention," Zeng said.

 

He added that China's packaging industry is concerned about environmental protection and resource conservation.

 

Zeng called for additional efforts to be made to promote green packaging by developing waste-recycling technologies and using biodegradable materials.

 

China's packaging sector has witnessed robust growth in recent years. According to statistics from the China Packaging Federation, total packaging output was worth US$50 billion last year, a year-on-year growth of more than 20 percent.

 

"A challenge for Chinese packaging innovators is to create efficient packaging with the consumption of less energy and resources and less waste after use," Alexis Stassinopoulos, president of the World Packaging Organization, said at the conference.

 

Stassinopoulos said the increasing consumption of convenience foods creates a corresponding demand for packaging materials.

 

It is estimated that 25 billion pizza boxes were sold all over the world last year, Stassinopoulos said. "I should also mention packaging from McDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken, which are becoming very popular in China.

 

"We must all work to create new packaging solutions, which save more and consume less," he said.

 

In order to economize the gradually decreasing resources and protect the environment, the development of green packaging must be carried out without delay, said Shi Wanpeng, president of the China Packaging Federation.

 

More efforts are needed to conducted related research and development into supplying the market with better packaging products, which are non-poisonous, harmless and lightweight, Shi said in a keynote speech.

 

"We should try to find develop more effective waste-recycling technology for packaging for optimal resource efficiency."

 

(China Daily April 20, 2006)