CHINA - In a move to drastically cut excessive packaging China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision (AQSIQ), has issued a draft Ordinance which will govern the size, volume, material and cost of packaging in China according to a new report from PackWebasia.com “China’s Restriction on Excessive Packaging: Commentary & Impact analysis”.

The report is a clause by clause analysis of the new mandatory regulations, issued in draft form on 8 September 2000, and includes stiff penalties for non-compliance; including fines, confiscation of product and even the withdrawal of business operating license resulting on closure of the business. It is due to come into force on 1 January 2009.
Entitled ‘Limit Excessive Packaging of Goods Regulations", the new Ordinance sets mandatory legal standards and controls for packaging and details specifications covering packaging layers, permitted free-space and requires that packaging cost be no more than 15 percent of the sale value of the product.

According to the report’s author, Stuart Hoggard, “These new standards which will be mandatory for all packaging produced in China, are not unexpected - the State Council instructed AQSIQ to formulate restrictions on excessive packaging as part of  China’s Packaging Recycling Master Plan.”
Labelling reversal
According to the Ordinance, packaging, having first considered the main features and quality of the product , the function of the package should determine the choice of appropriate packaging materials.
However, all packaging should be of a single material, multi-layer material will be permitted only if the layers can be easily separated to encourage recycling: “This is similar to Japan’s regulations. In beverage packaging it will encourage the use of shrink sleeves at the expense of the pressure sensitive (PS) label,” says Hoggard “The implications of this one clause will be tremendous; between 2003-05 China’s PS label market grew at rates of more than 35 percent, much of that sector will be required to re-tool.”

Specific Restrictions

  The Ordinance will be accompanied by a series of separate Mandatory Specifications and Standards, currently only one has been issued, covering Food, Tea, Cosmetics and certain beverages.

It contains very specific instructions the number of primary and secondary packaging layers permitted.
The Specification also  includes formulae for the calculation of the allowable amount of free-space enclosing the product (porosity) and for calculating the permitted product/package cost ratio.

Why restrict packaging volumes
According to AQSIQ Regulations Secretary, Liu Zhaobin, quoted in the report, the Ordinance is aimed at building a conservation-minded society , protection of the environment and ecology, protection of consumer interest, promoting the development of circular economy, promoting the healthy and orderly development of the packaging industry in line with international practice.
“Over-packaging not only wastes resources and pollutes the environment,” said Lu Zhaobin, “But also damages the interests of consumers”.
“However, due to the lack of the necessary legal norms and mandatory national standards, over-packaging continues to be produced”

Who will be affected?
According to Stuart Hoggard “This law will have an immediate impact on the food, beverage and cosmetic sector, but as more Mandatory Standards are issued it will affect the entire packaging supply chain: Brand Owners, Package Designers.

This Excessive Packaging Analysis is the latest in a series of analytical reports on China's new sustainable packaging legislation entitled The China Syndrome. Each contains the complete text of the legislation along with analysis, commentary set against the background of the cultural context.
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