"Countdown to the 2025 'Tape Plastic Ban,' BOPLA's Spring is Here!"

By 2025, the express delivery volume in China is expected to reach 190 billion packages. Assuming that 10% of this is replaced with biodegradable tape, the demand for BOPLA will reach 23,500 tons. At the "Third Advanced Seminar on Biodegradable Material Modification and Product Processing Technology" held on June 26, we will invite Anhui Huayi Packaging Company to share related content about BOPLA tape.

According to a report from the Bioplastics Research Institute, in October 2022, the National Postal Administration officially announced that by the end of 2025, all postal and express delivery outlets across the country will completely ban the use of non-degradable plastic tape. This policy is linked to the National Development and Reform Commission's "Opinions on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control," which requires the express delivery industry to complete a systematic transformation from "plastic dependence" to "green transition" within three years. First-tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing have responded proactively.Shanghai has advanced its target.End of 2023Becoming the first city in the country to achieve a "ban on plastic tape" across the entire region.

Driven by policy, the express packaging industry is undergoing significant changes. Data from the State Post Bureau shows that in 2024, China's express delivery volume will reach 174.5 billion pieces, and it is expected to reach 190 billion pieces by 2025. Assuming that 10% of this is replaced by biodegradable tape, then...The demand will reach 23,500 tons.This trend not only forces companies to accelerate technological innovation but also spurs the industrialization wave of bio-based materials.

1. BOPLA tape, numerous enterprises collaborate to break through technology.

Among the various alternatives, biaxially oriented polylactic acid film (BOPLA) has become the focus of the industry due to its comprehensive performance advantages. This biodegradable material, made from corn starch, achieves mechanical properties comparable to traditional BOPP film through a biaxial stretching process, with a longitudinal tensile strength of 119 MPa and a longitudinal ultimate elongation of over 138%, fully meeting the demands of express packaging. More importantly, BOPLA can be degraded into water and carbon dioxide within 6 months under industrial composting conditions, reducing carbon emissions by 68% compared to fossil-based materials.

The core competitiveness of BOPLA tape stems from breakthroughs in both materials and processes.

Basal membrane innovation:Zhonglun New Materials' subsidiary Xiamen Changsu IndustrialThe developed BOPLA® by Baienli, through molecular structure design and stretching process optimization, has solved the problems of high brittleness and poor heat sealing of PLA, achieving mass production with a thickness as low as 12μm and a transparency exceeding 92%.Guangdong Shuye Environmental ProtectionThe PLA material from Fengyuan Biotech has successfully mass-produced a 28μm thick degradable adhesive tape film, and has also successfully trial-produced biaxially oriented heat shrink film and uniaxially oriented heat shrink film.Jiangsu New Thinking义The self-developed BOPLA film has achieved stable mass production on the multifunctional bidirectional stretching testing line at Guilin University of Electronic Technology. Its biodegradability has been certified by TÜV Rheinland and the Guangdong Microbial Analysis and Testing Center.

Adhesive Upgrade: Anhui Huayi Packaging has developed a fully biodegradable tape, which combines water-based degradable glue and bio-based film technology. The adhesive strength reaches 6.5N/25mm, with a temperature resistance range of -20℃ to 80℃, and has passed the green product certification for express packaging.

Industry chain collaboration: At the raw material end, Fengyuan Biological's FY802, Pulisi's 102, and the United States.NatureWorks' 4950DHigh-performance PLA grades are provided as quality substrates for BOPLA through molecular weight regulation and copolymer modification. On the equipment side, Guilin Electric Science Research Institute Co., Ltd. has accumulated rich design and manufacturing experience from small-scale trials to pilot tests and large-scale production. The BOPLA film products produced in batch trials on the production line have been validated by several domestic "Zhong" enterprises.

The market is about to explode, and companies are accelerating the layout of production capacity.

With the combination of policy benefits and technological maturity, the biodegradable tape market is expected to experience explosive growth in the coming years. Companies such as China Post and SF Express have already adopted BOPLA tape in bulk. In the 2024 annual tender for biodegradable tape by China Post Group Co., Ltd., Anhui Huayi Packaging and Wuhan Jin'ange won the bid, with a total amount reaching 100 million yuan.

Leading enterprises are accelerating capacity布局. Adhesive tape giant Yongguan New Materials is heavily investing in biodegradable adhesive materials, with a total investment of 380 million yuan planned for a 300,000-ton biodegradable adhesive materials project in Jiangxi by March 2025. Anhui Huayi Packaging has put into production a project with an annual output of 500 million square meters of biodegradable tape, which will achieve an annual output value of 2 billion yuan upon reaching full capacity. Sichuan Jinghua Adhesive New Materials' Southwest base has realized an annual production of 400 million square meters of new adhesive materials in the first phase, which includes biodegradable paper-based new materials. The second phase plans to add 480 million square meters of biodegradable recycled material capacity, bringing the total capacity to 1.48 billion square meters.

Huayi Packaging Production Plant

Despite the enormous potential of BOPLA, the industry still faces multiple challenges. Currently, the cost of BOPLA tape is still 20%-30% higher than that of traditional products, and it is necessary to reduce costs through large-scale production. There is still room for performance optimization, as the adhesive's water resistance and UV resistance need further enhancement to adapt to complex logistics environments.

The application scenarios of BOPLA are constantly expanding. In addition to express delivery tape, it can also be used in non-express delivery tape fields, such as straw packaging, disposable tableware packaging, aviation product packaging, flower packaging, and more.