Opportunities and Challenges for the Cement Paper Bag Machine Industry Under the "Plastic Ban"

As national environmental protection policies tighten, a traditional industry is quietly transforming, driven by a fierce collision between technological innovation and market demand.

From the "plastic restriction" in 2008 to the "plastic ban" in 2020, China's policies on plastic pollution control have been continuously upgraded. In January 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution," requiring the improvement of management systems for the production, circulation, consumption, and recycling of plastic products by 2025, and gradually prohibiting and restricting the use of non-degradable plastics.

This policy, dubbed the strictest "plastic ban" in history , is reshaping the ecosystem of many industries, including the cement packaging industry.

---

Policy Changes: Twenty Years from "Plastic Restriction" to "Plastic Ban"

my country's efforts to control plastic pollution have spanned more than two decades. In 1999, more than ten provinces and cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, and Liaoning, took the lead in issuing regulations restricting the use of ultra-thin plastic bags, thus initiating the "plastic restriction" campaign.

On June 1, 2008, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Notice on Restricting the Production, Sale and Use of Plastic Shopping Bags," which stipulated that all supermarkets, shopping malls, farmers' markets and other retail establishments must not provide plastic shopping bags free of charge.

The policy had a significant initial effect, reducing the use of plastic bags in supermarkets nationwide by about two-thirds within a year.

However, with the passage of time, especially the explosive growth of industries such as express delivery and food delivery, the use of plastic packaging products has rebounded. The upgraded "plastic ban" of 2020 was introduced, with a wider policy coverage and stricter measures.

Zhang Libin, a member of the Wuhan Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and general manager of Wuhan Huali Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., explained: "The 2008 'plastic restriction order' only targeted shopping bags in supermarkets, while the 2020 'Opinions' is an upgraded version of the 'plastic restriction order,' which prohibits the production of non-degradable plastic products. It neither allows production nor sales, which is the biggest difference."

Environmental challenges and transformation needs of cement packaging

Cement packaging, as an important component of industrial packaging, has long faced serious environmental problems. Traditional sewn-bottom laminated woven plastic bags have inherent shortcomings , making them prone to cement dust leakage, leading to environmental pollution and harm to human health.

According to relevant data, the problem of fugitive dust emissions from cement plants is serious, especially in the packaging workshop.

With the tightening of national environmental protection standards, upgrading cement packaging bags has become an inevitable requirement for the sustainable development of the industry. In May 2016, the China Building Materials Academy held a seminar on cement packaging bag standards in Shijiazhuang. The participants unanimously agreed to revise the cement packaging bag standards as soon as possible, eliminate sewn-bottom laminated woven plastic bags, and develop square-bottom heat-sealed laminated woven plastic bags.

This discussion ultimately led to the release of the newly revised national standard GB/T 9774-2020 "Cement Packaging Bags", which officially came into effect on April 1, 2022.

The new standard stipulates that cement packaging bags should have the characteristics of " good strength, good sealing, stable stacking, and anti-counterfeiting ", which can effectively solve the long-standing problem of severe dust spraying during cement filling in cement packaging workshops, which has created environmental dead zones.

New Opportunities for the Cement Paper Bag Machine Industry

Under the backdrop of the "plastic ban", the cement paper bag machine industry has ushered in a series of development opportunities.

Market demand expands

With the advancement of the new "plastic ban" and the implementation of the new national standard for cement packaging bags, the market demand for environmentally friendly cement packaging has grown rapidly . This has directly driven the demand for advanced cement paper bag making machines.

Liu Jiawen, a second-level researcher at the Huangshi Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, pointed out during his research that the implementation of the new standards has driven cement companies to upgrade their production equipment and processes. This wave of equipment upgrades has brought numerous business opportunities to cement paper bag machine manufacturers .

Policy support for environmental protection technologies

Increased national support for the development of environmental protection technologies has created a favorable policy environment for the cement paper bag machine industry. Wang Zhanjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association, emphasized that using biodegradable plastics to address convenience issues is a viable solution when recyclability and easy recycling fail to solve the problem.

There is great potential for technological upgrades.

Compared to traditional woven plastic bags, eco-friendly paper bags have many advantages. Experts point out that eco-friendly paper bags are reusable, come in a wide variety of styles, and are harmless to the human body.

Under proper storage conditions, such paper bags can be reused, and in sufficient humidity, they can degrade in the natural environment in just 2 years .

These characteristics make paper bags a promising application in the cement packaging industry, and correspondingly, the demand for machinery and equipment capable of producing high-quality cement paper bags is also increasing.

The industry faces serious challenges

Despite its promising prospects, the cement paper bag machine industry also faces many challenges in its development.

Cost pressure

The persistently high price of biodegradable materials is one of the main problems facing the industry. According to Mu Bin, president of "FindPlastics.com", the price of PBAT, a biodegradable material, has risen sharply, and the raw material BDO used to produce PBAT is in short supply, with the price rising from more than 7,000 yuan per ton to more than 30,000 yuan per ton.

This directly impacts the price of PBAT, which is currently priced at 35,000 yuan per ton . Although more than 30 companies are expanding their PBAT production capacity, with an estimated future capacity of three to four million tons, it will still take time for prices to come down.

Technical bottlenecks

The cement paper bag machine industry faces certain technological bottlenecks, particularly in adapting to new materials and processes. New standards for cement packaging bags require the use of square-bottomed, heat-sealed, laminated woven plastic bags, which places higher demands on the technical performance of bag-making machines.

The industry needs to continuously innovate technologically to keep up with changes in policies, standards, and market demands.

Environmental controversy

Paper bags are not a perfect environmental solution. An article in the Shaanxi Science and Technology Daily points out that the raw material for paper bags is paper, and most modern papermaking comes from trees. If it were made from pulp, a large number of trees would need to be cut down.

While using recycled paper to make bags avoids cutting down trees, the process of recycling, washing, deinking, and repulping waste paper generates a lot of dust and wastewater , and consumes a lot of energy.

One study even showed that producing paper bags consumes 10% more energy, uses four times more water, and emits 3.3 times more greenhouse gases than producing plastic bags. These controversies remind the industry that it needs to comprehensively consider the environmental footprint of paper bags.

Technological Innovation and Development Direction

Faced with both opportunities and challenges, the cement paper bag machine industry is seeking breakthroughs through technological innovation.

Intelligent development

Modern cement paper bag machines are developing towards a high degree of automation . The early ZDJ-420A two-color cement paper bag machine could only automate basic functions such as paper feeding, printing, rolling, gluing, cutting, and bag output.

The new generation of paper bag machines, such as the B320/520-6A paper bag machine, is a large-scale combined machine consisting of six parts: printing, paper rack, gluing, forming, main machine, and finishing. During operation, all six parts are completed continuously and automatically, including automatic three-sided color printing, automatic gluing, automatic tube forming, automatic laminating, cutting, conveying and stacking, with a production capacity of 160 bags per minute .

Materials Innovation

The academic community is actively developing low-cost biodegradable materials . Professor Chen Guoqiang of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tsinghua University has been researching the biodegradable material PHA for 36 years, and he and his team are striving to reduce the cost of PHA to 12,000 yuan per ton within 5 years.

Once realized, biodegradable bags will be priced similarly to current plastic bags. Professor Chen Guoqiang explained: "All raw materials for PHA are grown, and the production process uses full biological fermentation, requiring no high temperature or pressure, and no organic solvents. After use, the finished product can be crushed and used to feed pigs and fish, or it can be degraded through composting. The entire process achieves 100% carbon neutrality ."

Adaptability Enhancement

To meet diverse customer needs, modern cement paper bag machines are continuously improving their adaptability. Some new paper bag machines can produce both paper bags and composite paper bags, allowing manufacturers to quickly adjust their product structure according to market demands.

Future Outlook: Pathways to Green Transition

Looking ahead, the cement paper bag making machine industry has broad development prospects. According to market research reports, the global bag making machine market is expected to grow from US$2.8 billion in 2025 to US$5.1 billion in 2035, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.1% .

Paper bag applications are projected to account for 41.2% of market revenue by 2025 , making it the largest application area. This trend indicates that the paper bag machine manufacturing industry has vast market potential.

The next five years are a crucial period for the development of the cement paper bag machine industry. As Committee Member Zhang Libin stated, "This 'Opinion' clearly defines a five-year timeframe from 2020 to 2025, including not only a timetable but also a list of banned plastics and relevant guidelines for various administrative regions. I believe we are confident that we can solve the problem of single-use plastics within five years."

For cement producers, transformation is also imperative. As of May 2022, a few cement companies in Huangshi City had still failed to implement the new standards in a timely manner. Regulatory authorities stated they would continue to monitor the situation, summarize experiences, and provide targeted technical assistance and guidance to address the problems and needs of the companies.

---

In the coming years, with increasingly stringent environmental policies, the cement paper bag machine industry will enter a period of rapid development . A survey by the Huangshi Municipal Market Supervision Bureau shows that the new standards have already spurred local cement companies to undertake large-scale upgrades to their production equipment and processes.

Meanwhile, the academic community is also actively working on breakthroughs. Professor Chen Guoqiang's team at Tsinghua University is striving to reduce the cost of biodegradable material PHA to 12,000 yuan per ton within 5 years, which would make biodegradable bags comparable in price to ordinary plastic bags.

Driven by policy, technology, and the market, the cement paper bag machine industry will usher in a wave of technological innovation , providing solid support for the green transformation of the entire cement industry.