The Historical Role and Future Trend of Plastics: From "The King of Convenience" to "Circular Revolution"丨ChinaReplas T&P 2025

ChinaReplas T&P 2025

The 3rd Plastic Pollution Prevention and Control Theory and Practice Forum

The 3rd Plastic Pollution Governance: Theory and Practice Summit

Theme: Philosophy of Plastics

The Philosophical on Plastics

— 1 —

The Evolution of Plastics’ Historical Role

• 1950s-1970s: The darling of the industrial revolution
  Since the mass production of plastics in the 1950s, with its advantages of lightness, durability and low cost, it has quickly penetrated into core areas such as packaging, construction, and medical care, becoming a symbol of modern industrial civilization. By 2019, the annual global production of plastics has reached 460 million tons, a 230-fold increase from 70 years ago. During this period, plastics were regarded as the "king of convenience" and promoted the globalization of consumerism.
• 1980s-2010s: The trigger of the environmental crisis
  With the proliferation of disposable plastic products, the problem of plastic pollution has gradually emerged. According to data from 2017, only 6% of plastics are recycled, and more than 80% become landfills or waste in the environment, and even form the "Pacific Garbage Patch". Plastics have changed from "solutions" to "problems themselves". Their non-degradability poses a threat to marine ecology and human health, and has become the focus of global environmental governance.
• 2020s to present: Transformation test field of circular economy
  In recent years, the world has begun to explore sustainable paths for plastics. The EU has promoted the use of recycled plastics through the "Circular Economy Plastic Strategy", and China has proposed to produce 23 million tons of recycled plastics during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. The rise of chemical recycling technologies (such as pyrolysis and gasification) and degradable materials (PLA, PBAT) marks the transformation of the plastics industry to a "closed loop".

— 2 —

Technology-driven and policy-driven

In the governance of plastic pollution, technological breakthroughs and policy guidance are becoming the two core driving forces for industry change. Technological innovation provides feasibility for plastic recycling and alternative materials, while policy-driven forces accelerate market transformation and form a systematic change from upstream production to downstream consumption.

• Technological breakthroughs : Promoting a new pattern of plastic recycling. One of the core issues of plastic pollution is low recycling rates and insufficient recycling quality . Traditional mechanical recycling has problems with degradation loss and impurity pollution , and it is difficult to meet the needs of food-grade and high-performance plastics. In recent years, new technologies such as chemical recycling, intelligent sorting and material innovation are reshaping the industry landscape. Europe leads in chemical recycling, and its production capacity is expected to double to 540,000 tons in 2026; American companies have invested more than US$7 billion in the development of recycled plastic products, such as food-grade rPET .
• Policy orientation: The world is increasing the proportion of recycled materials and reducing the amount of plastics. The pressure of policies and regulations is the core driving force for the transformation of the plastics industry. Countries around the world are setting stricter targets for the utilization rate of recycled plastics and the reduction of plastics . For example, the EU requires that plastic packaging contain 30% recycled materials by 2030, and China has forced the industry to upgrade through the "plastic ban" and tax leverage .

— 3 —

Once hailed as one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, plastics are everywhere, from food packaging to medical devices, from building materials to electronic products, and have become a symbol of modern civilization. However, as global plastic production has exceeded 400 million tons, its non-degradable nature has also brought about an unprecedented environmental crisis - marine garbage belts, microplastic pollution, and ecological chain damage. Plastics have gradually fallen from the "king of convenience" to the "public enemy of the environment."

Today, the world is standing at the crossroads of plastic civilization: will it continue to rely on this "double-edged sword" material, or will it promote its transformation to a circular economy through technological innovation and policy guidance? On March 19, 2025, the ChinaReplas T&P 2025 3rd Plastic Pollution Prevention and Control Theory and Practice Forum will kick off in Suzhou. With the theme of "Philosophy of Plastics" , this forum will deeply explore the historical role of plastics, economic dilemmas and global governance paths, aiming to provide scientific logic and innovative solutions for China and the world's plastic pollution governance.

From the "King of Convenience" to the "Circular Revolution", how will the future of plastics be written? The answer may lie in the collision of ideas and practice.

ChinaReplas T&P 2025

The 3rd Plastic Pollution Prevention and Control Theory and Practice Forum

Conference theme: Philosophy of plastics

Sponsor: China Synthetic Resin Association

March 18, 2025 , 19:00-23:00 , Suzhou

Conference language: Chinese and English simultaneous interpretation

Conference content (continuously updated)

Part 1: The philosophy of plastic is the philosophy of man

The relationship between human creation and natural order

The changing role of plastics in the course of history

Value trade-offs and choices

Thinking about the relationship between plastic pollution, people and institutions

Analysis of the causal chain of plastic pollution

Part II: Plastic pollution from an economic perspective

Wrong pricing

No responsibility required

Unclear property rights

Part III: Comparison of theoretical studies on global plastic pollution governance and philosophical reflection

The logic behind prohibiting restrictions on alternatives

Confusion of policy logic under the disorder of subject

Philosophical thinking on mainstream governance solutions

Part IV: Difficulties in Practical Control of Plastic Pollution

Philosophical basis for systemic solutions

Clarity of responsibilities: Who should be held responsible for plastic pollution?

Source of expenses: Who will pay for the cost of plastic pollution control?