China's PCR plastics breakthrough: technical breakthroughs and market reconstruction under the new national standard

  The "Technical Specifications for the Use of Recycled Plastics in Household Appliances" (T/CHEAA 0034-2024), which came into effect in January 2025, put post-consumer recycled plastics (PCR) in the spotlight - home appliance companies must achieve a mandatory quota of up to 20% of recycled materials. This policy is forcing the industrial chain to upgrade: Haier's molecular purification technology removes micron-level impurities in PCR through three-layer melt filtration, and its modified PCR polypropylene is used in the inner barrel of the washing machine, with an impact strength of 98% of the original material standard, reducing carbon emissions by 1.8 tons per ton.

  The key to technological breakthroughs lies in solving the bottleneck of recycled material performance. A modified factory in East China uses a nano-calcium carbonate reinforcement system to make the flexural strength of PCR-ABS material exceed 65MPa, successfully replacing imported materials for air conditioner shells; packaging companies in South China use AI visual sorting systems to increase the purity of PET bottle recycling to 99.2%, reducing raw material costs by 30%.

  The market reshuffle has already begun. A Dongguan injection molding factory used uncertified PCR materials, which resulted in excessive brittle cracking of products and caused losses of more than 3 million yuan; while companies that have passed GRS certification are rapidly gaining market share - Ningbo Lishi's food-grade PCR-PET lunch boxes can provide complete TC transaction certificates, and export orders will increase by 40% in 2024.

  With the GB/T 16288 standard requiring the labeling of recycled content on products, a policy-driven green transformation is shifting from compliance costs to technological dividends. When air conditioner shells carry 30% of post-consumer plastic components, the sustainable transformation of China's manufacturing has penetrated into the supply chain.