Literature review on waste management of online food delivery industry in China

Meituan Waimai,which was officially launched in November 2013,has created a huge market for food delivery in China.After years of development,China’s online food delivery market reached RMB 664.62 billion in 2020.In 2022,Meituan Waimai and Ele.me,two food delivery platforms,have created a duopoly in China’s food delivery industry.Due to the success of the food delivery industry,a significant amount of food delivery packaging waste has caused far-reaching harm.This literature review primarily organizes the research on the impact of online food delivery packaging from the perspective of environmental protection.It uses the criterion layer index of online food delivery waste management ecosystem to analyze the impact of the government,environmental non-governmental organizations(NGOs),garbage recycling processors,consumers,online food delivery platforms,takeaway merchants,and takeaway packaging manufacturers.The review shows that scholars generally believe that takeaway waste management is a complex process involving multiple factors.The implementation of policies at the government level is inadequate,and studies at the environmental NGO level are scant.At the consumer level,more environmental awareness education is required.Online food delivery platforms and takeaway merchants should assume greater corporate social responsibility,and manufacturers of takeaway packaging need prioritize the substitution of environmentally friendly materials.There is a consensus that paper-made and recyclable packaging boxes are more environmentally friendly than degradable packaging,which is not as environmentally friendly as is commonly believed.The academia and the industry have conducted various studies and pilot projects on recyclable packaging.If all levels cooperate well,this will be an effective way to manage takeaway packaging garbage.At last,we propose the following assumptions for future research:Besides environmental hazards,takeaway garbage has caused direct or indirect physical harm to humans and animals.Increasing consumer awareness may increase their propensity to participate in governance.Additionally,existing food delivery platforms may need to improve their corporate social responsibility awareness to provide environmentally conscious consumers with sufficient and effective plastic reduction guidance measures during the ordering process.Moreover,will biodegradable plastic products face the same ironic situation as biofuels?That is,the initial intention of technology development is to improve the environment,but the actual process of production or processing may controversially aggravate the environment.

Environmental and economic benefit of recycling model of packaging waste:a case study on aluminum

In order to achieve sustainable utilization of natural resources, save energy and protect environment and ecosystem, it is important for a region or a nation to develop and implement a viable waste recycling model from both theoretical and practical point of view. Some packaging recycling models operated in developed countries are introduced in this article. Aluminium can recovery and recycling is emphasized. Cost effective, economic and environmental benefit of different models are compared and analyzed. The result shows that all recycling models have their characteristics due to the initial purpose of recovery and the situation of the implementing country. However, all the models contribute to the reduction of municipal solid waste disposal and resources conservation.

Status Analysis of Recycling and Disposal of Pesticide Packaging Waste in Western Zhejiang

The status quo of recycling and disposal of pesticide packaging waste in western Zhejiang Province was studied.The existing shortcomings were analyzed,and feasible suggestions were put forward.

Disposing Status and Control Countermeasures of Pesticide Packaging Wastes in Tobacco Producing Area in Yunnan Province

Pesticide packaging wastes pose a serious hazard to the agricultural production environment and the quality of agricultural products. The investigation for 2 consecutive years in Jietou Region of Tengchong County, a major tobacco planting area in Yunan, showed that： ① More than 80% of the pesticides purchased by farmers were used for tobacco cultivation, which was 4 times that of conventional crops planting, and most of the packaging materials were plastic bags; ② The main way for farmers to dispose plastic bags was to burn or discard them in the field garbage collection baskets; ③ In combination with field surveys, an average of 4.54 pieces of pesticide packaging wastes were scattered around every 667 m^2 of tobacco field. In addition, the number reduced significantly after carrying out pesticide packaging wastes recycling and control project at the local smoke station. At the same time, the average number of pesticide packaging wastes in the field collection baskets increased. Therefore, it can effectively control pesticide packaging wastes by changing the type of pesticide packaging, encouraging the establishment of recycling system and strengthening the cognitive training of farmers.

Preparation,Characterization and Hot Storage Stability of Asphalt Modified by Waste Polyethylene Packaging

Waste polyethylene packaging （WPE） was used to modify asphalt, and hot storage stability of the modified asphalt was studied in this paper. The morphological change and component loss of WPE modified asphalt were characterized by fluorescence microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR）, differential scanning calorimetry （DSC）, thermogravimetry （TG） and isolation testing. In addition, the mechanism of the hot storage stability of WPE modified asphalt was discussed. The results showed that the modification of asphalt with WPE was a physical process. It was found that the filament or partly network-like structure formed in the modified asphalt system was beneficial to improving the hot storage stability. Moreover, the addition of WPE resulted in a decrease in both the light components volatilization and the macromolecules decomposition of asphalt. It was demonstrated that when the content of WPE in matrix asphalt was less than 10 wt%, the service performances of modified asphalt could be better.