Some time ago, the article "Takeout is destroying our next generation" was popular. Restaurant owners said "We are not responsible for this" and that takeout is not the culprit of environmental pollution, but many restaurant owners said they would consider making some changes; the takeout platform sued by environmental groups also began to try out the "no tableware required" service, but it was considered a "chicken rib" option.
It is unrealistic to get rid of tableware, and change is imperative. How should takeout packaging be changed?
Looking back, takeout packaging seems to have been equated with words such as "harmful" and "garbage" since its birth. For example, foam lunch boxes and plastic lunch boxes are widely used and criticized by thousands of people, but is takeout packaging born like this? Is there a possibility that takeout packaging will be insulated from "garbage" and "harmful" from now on?
For example, some lunch boxes made of environmentally friendly materials, but when it comes to environmental protection, restaurant owners shake their heads. In their opinion, the so-called environmentally friendly lunch boxes are mostly not practical, so are there any materials that are both environmentally friendly and practical?
Aluminum foil lunch boxes just meet this requirement. They have good thermal insulation performance and are recyclable. However, in the past, they were slightly expensive and difficult to form a market. With the emergence of environmental protection issues in takeout and the arrival of the consumption upgrade trend, they have begun to be used in crayfish, grilled fish, clams, clay pot rice and other food categories that require higher temperatures. Many businesses specializing in cooking have begun to actively try.
Now many companies have begun to pay attention to the market for aluminum foil lunch boxes, but it seems to be still in a situation of "good reviews but not popular". Today, Kuaiwan Thinking will focus on aluminum foil lunch boxes and discuss the reasons and solutions for its "good reviews but not popular".
Next, I will introduce the advantages of aluminum foil lunch boxes to you:
1. Environmentally friendly and non-toxic
The most commonly used in the takeout market is foam lunch boxes, and the material of foam lunch boxes is polystyrene. When it comes into contact with high-temperature food or water, it will release toxic substances that are harmful to the human body. Long-term use may cause cancer. At the same time, it is not easy to degrade, causing serious white pollution to the environment.
Aluminum foil has good thermal stability. In an environment of -20 degrees to 250 degrees, the molecular structure of aluminum can remain stable. Its use temperature can range from quick freezing to extreme barbecue. Aluminum foil lunch boxes can always remain unchanged, cracked, and deteriorated, and will not produce any toxic substances.
2. Convenient sealing to ensure hygiene
The aluminum foil lunch box has very good molding performance. It will not break even if wrinkles, bumps, etc. are present during transportation. Choose different types of aluminum foil to accurately reflect the product's pass.
3. Insulation and freshness
Aluminum foil has outstanding barrier properties. When the thickness of the aluminum foil is sufficient, it can basically completely block gas and moisture. Therefore, among plastic flexible packaging materials, aluminum foil is a commonly used barrier material, and aluminum foil has a series of advantages such as light weight, airtightness, and good wrapping. It is mainly hygienic, beautiful, and can also be heat-insulating to a certain extent.
4. Recycling and reuse, saving resources
Aluminum has a very high recycling value and can be recycled indefinitely, with limited quality loss and can maintain the original characteristics of aluminum. The energy required for the regeneration process of aluminum foil is only less than 5% of the energy required for the production of original aluminum, and the greenhouse gas emissions are 95% less than that of original aluminum. Aluminum foil lunch boxes can be easily compressed after use and are easy to sort, thereby reducing the amount of garbage generated.
5. The current situation of aluminum foil lunch boxes:
National and local relevant departments have successively promulgated relevant policies and regulations to prohibit the use of disposable foam plastic tableware. Unfortunately, these unqualified tableware are still "prevalent" on people's tables. Despite the repeated orders of the state, they are only "transferred from ban to sale" and have not been fully and effectively curbed. Now people have higher and higher requirements for the quality of life and advocate low-carbon, environmentally friendly and green life, which also provides a good environment for the popularization of aluminum foil lunch boxes. Use green lunch boxes to jointly build a "low-carbon" life and contribute your own meager efforts to create a better home.
6. China is the world's largest producer and exporter of aluminum foil and can achieve self-sufficiency:
A set of data in 2013 shows that in terms of per capita consumption of aluminum foil, China is 1.3kg, Europe and North America are 1.7kg, China's aluminum foil production accounts for half of the world's total, and its consumption accounts for 35% of the world's total. Only 1/3 of China's aluminum foil is used for packaging, but Europe and the United States account for more than 70%.
In 2016, the aluminum foil market grew rapidly, and China's market consumption increased by 16% in 4 years. It can consume 60 tons of aluminum foil a day and 20,000 tons a year. This will be a market of 400 million yuan. Compared with the whole country, there is a market capacity of 40 billion yuan, and the annual aluminum foil consumption is about 2 million tons. In other words, as the world's largest producer and exporter of aluminum foil, China can meet the packaging needs of aluminum foil lunch boxes and achieve self-sufficiency. Among the three major obstacles to the promotion of aluminum foil lunch boxes - concepts, costs, and channels, the correction of concepts should be ranked first, because only when consumers and restaurants on the demand side think that aluminum foil lunch boxes are good enough can the production side be forced to release production capacity, not to mention that my country's aluminum foil self-supply capacity is quite strong. But if we want to truly create an industrial closed loop for aluminum foil lunch boxes, the key is recycling. How should the recycling mechanism be established? If it cannot be recovered, the cost paid by the restaurant will be wasted; if it is recycled on site, will consumers who are used to throwing away after eating be willing to pile up "abandoned aluminum boxes" in a small room? If for convenience, the secondary recycling cost of aluminum boxes is included in the customer unit price, will consumers buy it? This is indeed a long way to go. The one-time purchase cost of aluminum foil lunch boxes is high, but it consumes less energy, has good thermal insulation performance and is environmentally friendly. This is its unique advantage, and it is also in line with the general trend of environmental protection and consumption upgrading. This is the future to look forward to. Therefore, how far is the aluminum foil lunch box from being "both popular and popular"? The road ahead is long, and the future is promising.
