All posts by : tengyunwang2008@gmail.com

On June 5th, World Environment Day, a themed event titled “Green Packaging, Low-Carbon Living” was held at the School of Environment, Tsinghua University. The event was jointly organized by Vitasoy Co., Ltd., Tsinghua University Xiuzhong College, Tsinghua University School of Environment, China National Resources Recycling Association, and Beijing Resource Compulsory Recycling Environmental Protection Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, and hosted by Tsinghua University Student Zero Carbon Future Association and Tsinghua University Student Green Association. The event featured an exhibition of recycled cultural and creative products made from beverage paper-based composite packaging (hereinafter referred to as “paper boxes”), an interactive activity where participants could collect paper boxes to redeem gifts, and a poster exhibition on paper box recycling and resource utilization technologies. The event attracted many Tsinghua faculty and students, vividly showcasing the concept of green recycling on campus.

This event is a phased demonstration of the “Beyond the Classroom” practice at Tsinghua University’s Xiuzhong College. In September 2025, Vitasoy officially partnered with the “Beyond the Classroom” project, joining as a supporting organization in the co-construction of the paper packaging recycling project. As an important component of the scientific research and innovation practice at Tsinghua University’s Xiuzhong College, “Beyond the Classroom” is a unique training program established by the college outside of the main classroom, encouraging students to step outside the classroom and conduct interdisciplinary explorations around sustainable development issues. This research on paper packaging recycling is one important practical project within this program.

Over the past year, Tsinghua students participating in the project have conducted field research in Hangzhou, Beijing, and other locations to understand the industrial pathways of paper packaging recycling and regeneration. In Hangzhou, students visited the Lianyun Environmental Recycling Resource Sorting Center, observing firsthand how artificial intelligence accurately identifies and sorts paper packaging; they also visited Hangzhou Fulun Ecological Technology Co., Ltd., gaining an in-depth understanding of how the patented “paper-plastic-aluminum separation” technology transforms waste packaging into recycled paper, plastic, and aluminum products. In Beijing, students visited the Aihuishou Tongzhou District Recyclable Waste Sorting Center and Tetra Pak Packaging (Beijing) Co., Ltd. to gain a deeper understanding of the complete chain from front-end green design to back-end recycling systems.

These practical findings were presented at the “Sustainable Development Observation” Beyond Classroom Results Presentation on June 5th. The three research findings focused on raising public awareness of community recycling, analyzing the input-output of the economic value chain, and optimizing paper-plastic-aluminum separation technology, providing youthful perspectives and insights into the recycling of paper packaging boxes from different dimensions. “Beyond Classroom” special scholarships were also awarded at the event to encourage more students to engage in sustainable development practices.

Following the implementation of the newly revised Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, the mandatory provisions for restricting excessive packaging of goods were further clarified, and for the first time, the legal responsibilities of producers and operators who fail to comply with mandatory standards for product packaging were stipulated. To curb excessive packaging in the market, reduce resource waste and solid waste pollution, and build a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society, market supervision departments across the country have strengthened supervision in accordance with the law, correcting and investigating a number of illegal acts of excessive packaging of goods. The State Administration for Market Regulation has selected some typical cases investigated and handled since 2021 and published them hereby.

Shandong Dexingtang Ejiao Products Co., Ltd. was ordered to rectify its excessive packaging by the Pingyin County Market Supervision Bureau of Jinan City, Shandong Province on March 7, 2017. It was again penalized by the Pingyin County Market Supervision Bureau on January 31, 2018, for producing excessively packaged products. In October 2021, the Pudong New Area Market Supervision Bureau of Shanghai conducted a random inspection of the company’s ready-to-eat Ejiao cake (rose type) (120g/box) produced on April 26 of that year. The Pudong New Area Metrology and Quality Inspection Institute determined that the packaging void ratio was substandard, classifying it as excessively packaged. On January 5, 2022, the Pudong New Area Market Supervision Bureau notified the Pingyin County Market Supervision Bureau of the inspection results. The company’s production of ready-to-eat Ejiao cake (rose type) with a void ratio that did not meet national standards violated Article 68, Paragraph 2 of the “Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law.” Furthermore, the company’s repeated violations, despite being ordered to rectify by the Pingyin County Market Supervision Bureau in 2017 and administratively penalized in 2018, constitute a serious offense. On March 11, 2022, the Pingyin County Market Supervision Bureau, in accordance with Article 105 of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, imposed a fine of 43,746 yuan on Shandong Dexingtang Ejiao Products Co., Ltd. for failing to comply with the mandatory standards for restricting excessive packaging of goods.

June 10, 2026: Emirates recently announced the significant results of its closed-loop recycling program: since its launch in June 2023, the program has recycled more than 88 tons of economy class plastic tableware in the past year, turning them into brand new in-flight supplies through a closed-loop recycling process.

As part of its environmental management commitments, Emirates has invested over AED 50 million to facilitate the transition of its in-flight catering supplies to a closed-loop manufacturing model. After flights, damaged or unusable plates, containers, dishes, and bowls from economy class are collected and transported to a specialized facility in Dubai for cleaning, testing, and processing to create new in-flight tableware containing up to 25% renewable materials. These products are then delivered to Emirates Flight Catering for use on thousands of flights. With millions of plates, bowls, and dishes used annually across Emirates’ global network, this project embodies the principles of a circular economy, significantly reducing plastic waste ending up in landfills and lowering carbon emissions during transportation through localized recycling and manufacturing.

This project is a collaboration between Emirates and deSter, an in-flight catering supply supplier and closed-loop manufacturing expert. deSter is a member of the Circular Economy 100 (CE100) program, which brings together leading global circular economy organizations. At the same time, deSter has also received a “Gold” rating from EcoVadis, a renowned international sustainability assessment agency. Its production facilities also incorporate numerous sustainable design concepts, including solar power generation, efficient water resource management, and waste reduction measures.

Food is the paramount necessity of the people. Food safety is closely related to every consumer and has become a focal point of concern. While food-related products enrich our lives, they also bring new food safety challenges. When food containers and packaging materials come into contact with food, certain substances may migrate into the food, thus affecting its safety.

Therefore, countries are not only placing increasingly higher demands on the quality of food itself, but also paying increasing attention to the safety and quality of food contact materials and products, imposing similarly high requirements. Currently, many countries around the world are researching the adoption of green packaging and the use of non-toxic and harmless packaging materials. In international food trade, the regulations and standards formulated by various countries play a positive role in protecting consumer health and ensuring food safety. However, it is undeniable that some stringent regulations have negatively impacted market access for products from developing countries and less developed regions, especially the corresponding regulations and migration limits set by some economically developed countries in Europe and America, which have raised import barriers. This not only affects the import of food contact materials into these countries and regions, but also has a wide-ranging impact on the import of related food products into these regions due to issues with food packaging materials.

Since China’s accession to the WTO, the market share of food containers, utensils, and packaging materials has been increasing year by year, while the rate of product non-compliance has also been rising annually. Therefore, implementing a market access system for food-related products is now imperative. By implementing this system, market behavior can be effectively regulated, potential food safety hazards can be eliminated, and enterprises can be encouraged to prioritize the quality of food packaging, containers, and tools in competition, thereby improving the overall development level of the industry and promoting healthy market competition.