The Future of Plastics: 'Biodegradation' or 'Recycling'?

Biodegradable plastics refer to plastic products whose properties meet functional requirements during use, remain stable throughout their shelf life, and—after disposal—degrade into environmentally harmless substances under natural environmental conditions. Biodegradable plastics offer advantages in performance, practicality, degradability, and safety. In terms of performance, they can match—or even surpass in certain specific applications—the properties of conventional plastics. Regarding practicality, they exhibit application and hygiene performance comparable to that of equivalent conventional plastics. Concerning degradability, after use, biodegradable plastics break down relatively quickly in natural environments (e.g., under the influence of specific microorganisms, temperature, and humidity) into fragments or non-toxic gases readily assimilated by the environment, thereby reducing environmental impact. In terms of safety, substances generated or remaining during degradation pose no harm to the environment and do not threaten human or other biological life. However, the primary current obstacle to replacing conventional plastics—i.e., the main drawback of biodegradable plastics—is their higher production cost compared to equivalent conventional or recycled plastics. Therefore, biodegradable plastics hold greater substitution advantages in short-lifespan applications—such as packaging and agricultural mulch films—where recovery and separation are difficult, performance requirements are modest, and impurity content must be strictly controlled. 2. Recycled plastics are suitable for applications with low hygiene requirements. Recycled plastics are plastic raw materials reprocessed from waste plastics via physical or chemical methods—including pretreatment, melt granulation, and modification. Their greatest advantage lies in lower cost compared to virgin (new) plastics and biodegradable plastics; moreover, they can be tailored to emphasize specific properties according to end-use requirements, enabling targeted product manufacturing. When subjected to only a limited number of recycling cycles, recycled plastics retain performance similar to conventional plastics—or maintain stable performance through blending with virgin material. However, after multiple recycling cycles, their performance deteriorates significantly, potentially rendering them unusable. Additionally, achieving consistently high hygiene standards while maintaining economic viability remains challenging for recycled plastics. Consequently, recycled plastics are best suited for applications involving few recycling cycles and low hygiene requirements. Production process of recycled plastics Typical performance changes in common plastics after recycling Note: Melt index indicates the flowability of plastic materials during processing; specific viscosity refers to the static viscosity per unit volume of liquid

Research Report on INTCO Recycling—China’s Leading Company in Plastic Circular Recycling: A Leader in Recycled Plastics

Domestic Sales Network: The company has established multiple sales outlets across China—including Beijing, Shanghai, Zibo, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Lanzhou, Zhengzhou, Lu’an, and Yiwu—effectively covering its core target markets and demonstrating robust marketing reach. The domestic market is divided into regional zones, each managed by a dedicated regional manager. Most customers place orders via the company’s assisted-sales system, and goods are shipped directly to customers. Global Recycling Network: The company’s recycling network spans over 50 countries and includes more than 400 collection points, delivering significant overseas procurement cost advantages. The average price differential between domestic and overseas purchased plastic feedstock ranges from RMB 1,010 to 2,610 per ton, translating into a cost advantage of approximately 20%–40%. Furthermore, recycled plastics enjoy a roughly 40% price advantage over virgin plastics. High Overlap Between Recycling Equipment Customers and Raw Material Suppliers: Multi-tiered cooperation strengthens the recycling network. Beyond actively expanding domestic and international raw material sourcing channels, the company promotes its self-developed PS foam densification machines to collection points worldwide. These machines substantially reduce storage and transportation costs. Such multi-tiered collaboration between INTCO Recycling and raw material suppliers helps establish a stable global recycling network and ensures consistent raw material supply. 3.4 Core Proprietary Technologies Build Barriers and Empower the Entire Industrial Chain The company’s R&D expense ratio has risen steadily—from 3.6% in 2017 to 4.5% in 2020. It now holds 10 state-authorized invention patents and 91 utility model patents. Several core technologies have been certified by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) as “internationally advanced.” The company has also led the formulation of one industry standard and participated in developing two national standards and one group standard. ① Recycling Domain—PS Foam Densification Machine: The company purchases recyclable plastics from domestic and international collection points and promotes its self-developed, compatible equipment to these partners, providing efficient processing solutions. Its energy-efficient, self-developed PS foam densification machine—commercially available since 2008—employs integrated control systems for highly efficient, continuous, fully automated operation. It can compress PS foam plastics to as little as 1/50th of their original volume (cold compression) or 1/90th (hot-melt compression), resolving key challenges such as large volume, low density, geographically dispersed collection points, and high transportation costs—thus enabling centralized recycling. ② Recycling Domain—Repair & Modification Technologies: Leveraging advanced technologies—including molecular chain repair, PS toughening modification, and one-step regenerated filling modification—the company produces recycled PS pellets whose properties closely match those of equivalent virgin PS pellets. Its premium-grade recycled PS pellets achieve up to 99% purity. High-quality recycled PS pellets perform comparably to virgin pellets across key metrics—including melt index, impact strength, tensile strength, elongation at break, flexural strength, and flexural modulus—while costing less, offering strong value-for-money and partial substitutability for virgin materials. The company is currently developing advanced technologies including solid-state viscosity enhancement, high-efficiency filtration, and modified granulation. Next steps include expanding into PET and other plastic recycling businesses.

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