CHINA - In a move to reduce excessive packaging the National Standardization Technical Committee has issued technical requirements governing the size, volume and material used in food and cosmetic packaging in China according to a new report from PackWebasia.com “China’s Restriction on Excessive Packaging”.

The report is an analysis of the new mandatory regulations issued in July 2008 which sets the technical standards and controls for packaging and details specifications covering packaging layers and porosity.

According to the report’s author, Stuart Hoggard, “These new standards will be mandatory for all packaging produced in China, and are not unexpected, since the Standardisation Committee was instructed to formulate restrictions on excessive packaging as part of  China’s Packaging Recycling Master Plan.”

What are the restrictions?

According to the Restrictions on Excessive Food and Cosmetic Packaging all packaging should first consider the features and quality of the product, the function of the package which will then govern 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 - similar to Japan’s regulations.

Package producers and designers must consider a Life Cycle Assessment when choosing both materials and processes used

As a technical specification aimed at package reduction, the regulation contains very specific instructions the number of primary and secondary packaging layers permitted and includes formulae for the calculation of the allowable amount of empty space enclosing the product (porosity) in a range of product types such as food, cosmetics, tea and certain beverages.

Additionally, the regulation contains a cost-factor the total packaging cost should not exceed 12 per cent of the cost of the product.

Who will be affected?

According to Stuart Hoggard “These standards will have an immediate impact on the entire packaging supply chain: Brand Owners, Package Designers, Converters and even Retailers producing house brands will all have to comply.

“Foreign companies selling food, beverages or cosmetics in the China market will also have to follow these rules, even if the bulk of their production is being shipped overseas, since the rules are applicable ‘within the borders of the People’s Republic of China’ – Hong Kong and Maccau are exempted.

While these new standards are not laws, and contain no legal enforcement clauses, they are mandatory, since they establish the parameters and definition of ‘excessive packaging’ detailed in the Packaging recycling Master Plan, and are specifically underpinned in The Circular Economy Law published in August 2008 and become effective 1 January 2009.

The Packaging Recycling Master Plan contains a prohibition on Excessive Packaging and details specific penalties for infringement including, confiscation of products, fines of up to five times the value of the products and in the case of repeat offenders, the business license can be revoked and criminal proceedings instituted.

The devil is in the detail

The PackWebasia.com report “China’s Restriction on Excessive Packaging” contains the full text of the regulations in both the original Chinese and in English translation, along with the background legislation which underpins it and an in depth impact analysis on industry.

Priced at 120Euros, the report is available from the PackWebasia Library here .