Li Peisheng, executive vice president of Green Packaging Branch of Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences, believes in this investigation report that in the past, many foamed plastic lunch boxes were indeed made of refractory plastic materials, but with the progress of technology, an improved product, degradable plastic lunch boxes, appeared in recent years and gradually occupied the mainstream of the market. There is no big difference in the appearance of this product, and it will be completely absorbed by the natural environment for 60-70 days outdoors, without harmful effects on the environment.
People in China have two main views on the harm of foamed plastic lunch boxes: using it to hold high-temperature food will slowly release toxins above 10, which will cause cancer if eaten; Polystyrene contains bisphenol, which may cause reproductive dysfunction. Many citizens also find that when packaging high-temperature liquid food with foamed plastic lunch boxes, many bubbles often appear. This is the most direct suspicion of its toxicity. However, according to Li Peisheng, the common bubbles do not melt, but the air in the pores on the surface of the lunch box overflows due to the influence of high temperature. However, he also reminded that the lunch box should not be heated in the microwave oven, because the temperature of the microwave oven greatly exceeds the boiling point of water, and the lunch box will melt into food and become inedible.
Li Peisheng said that styrene is the most common residue of styrofoam lunch boxes, which was originally considered as a "carcinogen". Later, the United States, Japan and other countries not only wrote it off from the list of "carcinogens", but also announced that it would not affect human endocrine. The regulation of styrene residue in the United States is 5000PPM, and the actual test result of "white foam" tableware is lower than 1000PPM, "consumers don't have to worry about anything".
According to the investigation and statistics of relevant departments, the annual consumption of fast food boxes in China is about 654.38+0.2 billion, but the new environmental protection substitute tableware only accounts for 20%-30% in the market. People in the environmental protection industry generally believe that this is mainly caused by price. The cost of a styrofoam lunch box is 78 cents each, and the cheapest is 1.5 cents. Li Peisheng pointed out that, in fact, the replacement technology of new environmentally friendly tableware is not yet fully mature. Plant fiber environmental protection lunch box is not only expensive, but also has a lot of pesticides, fertilizers and animal manure on the surface of straw, which is difficult to clean and hygienic. The production of paper lunch boxes may bring pollution to the paper industry.
Whether foamed plastic lunch boxes are toxic to people or harmful to the environment is still the focus of debate. Many experts believe that, in any case, "recycling" is the ultimate way to "cure white". There is no doubt that foam waste can be recycled. Even if there is no environmental protection treatment technology for the time being, it can be preserved for a long time. In fact, this is also the practice of many developed countries.