Green packaging

China Environmental News Digest: "Green packaging" demand to help environment: "China is working to develop 'green packaging' as part of its efforts to build an environment-friendly society, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said yesterday.

He made the remarks when referring to the vast growth of packaging waste in the world at the World Packaging Conference, which opened in Beijing yesterday.

'The large increase of packaging waste has become a worldwide problem that deserves great attention,' Zeng said.

China's packaging industry attaches great importance to environmental protection and resource conservation, he added.

Zeng called for additional efforts to be made to promote green packaging by developing technologies of recycling waste or using degradable materials.

The packaging sector has witnessed robust growth in China. According to statistics from the China Packaging Federation, the total output of the nation's packaging industry reached US$50 billion last year, with a year-on-year growth of more than 20 per cent.

'A challenge for the Chinese packaging innovators is the creation of efficient packaging with the consumption of less energy and resources and less waste after use,' Alexis Stassinopoulos, president of the World Packaging Organization, said at"