Tobacco Industrial and Commercial Enterprises to Advance Cigarette Packaging Carton Recycling Under Phased Targets

To implement the guiding principles of the 18th CPC National Congress, speed up the transformation of the tobacco industry's development model, create a circular tobacco logistics system, and further reduce costs, waste and resource consumption, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued a notice on June 5. The notice calls for cigarette packaging carton recycling among industrial and commercial enterprises in the industry.

According to the notice, as modern logistics in the industry continues to deepen and cigarette transport and warehousing facilities between industrial and commercial enterprises improve, cigarette packaging cartons remain suitable for recycling after being opened and sorted in commercial circulation. This recycling effort can help present the industry's positive social image and carries significance for its sustainable development.

The notice sets phased targets: by 2014, paper cigarette packaging carton recycling should have a mature, standardized set of operating systems and mechanisms, with same-province (region, municipality) recycling reaching more than 50% scale; by 2015, paper carton recycling in neighboring provinces should reach more than 50% scale, and electronic label (RFID) cigarette packaging cartons should enter batch use in the industry; after that, cross-province (region, municipality) recycling of cigarette packaging cartons across the entire industry should be accelerated.

For next steps, the notice highlights four requirements. First, establish an operation and management mechanism: industrial and commercial enterprises should jointly form dedicated working groups, improve related processes and systems, and continually raise efficiency and performance. Second, formulate work plans scientifically, define objectives, key tasks and safeguards, break tasks down at each level and assign responsibilities, so work proceeds in an orderly way and goals are met. Third, build and improve process rules, clarify duties, strengthen standardized and long-term institutional arrangements, and design the overall operation flow and procedures for each stage in a coordinated way. Fourth, properly balance economic interests and working relationships among all parties, and accelerate the application and promotion of electronic label (RFID) cigarette packaging cartons.

The notice also proposes four safeguard measures: strengthen organizational leadership by setting up special working groups at all levels and ensuring all requirements are implemented; strengthen industrial-commercial coordination by developing and applying work processes, quality standards and settlement methods; strengthen technological innovation by researching and solving problems that arise in cigarette packaging carton recycling; and strengthen assessment and evaluation by incorporating each unit's annual completion of work objectives and target tasks into the annual performance assessment system, thereby helping ensure the targets and tasks are completed.

Source note: This article is republished from China Packaging Network (pack.cn); the original link is: http://news.pack.cn/show-361942.html