The growth in plastic waste behind the 21.3 billion cups of freshly made tea a year, and the report reveals the path of industry plastic reduction

In the past year, Chinese consumers consumed more than 21.31 billion cups of freshly made tea, equivalent to drinking an average of 676 cups every second. Behind these tea consumption is accompanied by the generation of approximately 430,400 tons of plastic waste.

On September 4, the environmental protection organization Pacific Environmental Resource Center released the report "Unlocking the New Greenery of Milk Tea: Research on Plastic Reduction Paths in China's Milk Tea Industry", which aims at the growth challenge of plastic waste behind the expansion of new tea drinks and provides suggestions for the industry's plastic reduction paths in the next five years.

Behind the expansion of new tea drinks: the growth of plastic waste

Based on the disclosed volume of cups sold by major brands of new tea drinks and the average weight of major packaging such as tea cups, the report estimates the plastic waste generated by new tea consumption in the past year. Among them, 70% of the plastic waste comes from well-known chain brands that rank among the top ten in sales on take-out platforms.

From an industry-wide perspective, this is equivalent to about 4 months of plastic domestic waste in a megacity like Beijing with a population of 21 million, or a year of plastic domestic waste in a large city with a population of 9 million like Hefei, Anhui. However, existing recycling systems are not mature, which means that this plastic waste either enters the environment as a source of pollution, or cannot be reused in landfills or incineration plants.

As 2025 approaches, the "Opinions of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the National Development and Reform Commission on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control" issued by China in 2020, namely the "New Plastic Restriction Order", has entered the final stage. Takeout catering is a key regulated industry, and the goal is to reduce the number of non-degradable disposable plastic tableware used in the industry by 30% in cities above prefecture level.

The report pointed out that research in recent years has shown that the total annual take-out plastic packaging waste in China is between 460,000 tons and 1.68 million tons, and the plastic waste in the new tea and beverage industry has reached the same volume. If no measures are taken, by 2030, the total waste generated by the new tea and beverage industry will reach 1.241 million tons each year, 2.8 times that of 2023.

"As an important member of the catering industry, new tea drinks consume a wide range of groups, especially among young consumers. Because of this, their demonstration effect in plastic reduction is particularly critical. If companies can take the lead, they will have a positive impact on promoting the green transformation of the catering industry and the realization of the national plastic reduction goal." Li Chenyang, a waste-free cities project official at the Pacific Environmental Resources Center, said when releasing the report.

Plastic reduction path: closed-loop from source to recycling

In order to meet this challenge, the report proposes that the new tea and beverage industry should start from four aspects: source reduction, reuse, prudent use of alternative materials, and drive recycling to realize the vision of zero plastic.

Exquisite tea packaging often stimulates consumers to try it and is more exposed by social media, but such marketing methods significantly increase the weight of tea cups. A 2022 environmental protection organization survey found that the packaging of a cup of tea contains up to 12 pieces, of which non-essential packaging accounts for more than 30% of the total packaging weight. The report recommends reducing waste in production and sales, adopting lightweight design, and removing unnecessary packaging and accessories as much as possible. If plastic reduction actions are started immediately, it is expected that 366,700 tons of waste will be reduced every year by 2030.

The reuse model is no stranger to consumers. Non-disposable mugs and self-contained cups used for dine-in meals are typical examples. Although it has become relatively common among large coffee chains to offer discounts to consumers who bring their own cups, the report pointed out that only two of the top ten chain new tea brands have long used this measure to encourage consumers to reduce the use of disposable plastic packaging.

Merchants can further promote reuse by providing "recycling cups". For consumers, if they don't bring their own cups with them, recycling cups provide a sustainable choice for those who want to drink but are unwilling to create garbage.

Recycling cups are usually operated by professional companies. After consumers use recycling cups in one store, they can return them at other stores or street return points. These cups are disinfected and used again. The Paris Olympics used recycling cups to avoid the use of disposable plastic cups. Successful practice of recycling cups has been achieved in Singapore, China Taiwan, Europe and North America.

However, a mature recycling cup market has not yet been established in China. The report pointed out that the construction of the recycling cup system requires early investment, which will increase operating costs and commercial risks. Therefore, in order to guide consumers to change the consumption of disposable plastic packagingXiTraditionally, in the early stage of promotion, it is recommended that the government, management agencies, third-party organizations and tea and beverage companies share the transformation costs.

The report proposes that new tea companies can also replace petroleum-based plastics by using non-petroleum-based materials. Since the promulgation of the "New Plastic Restriction Order", milk tea companies have replaced plastic straws with paper or bio-based materials. However, the report reminds that alternative materials have specific degradation conditions, and my country's current waste classification system prevents many alternative materials from being properly recycled; in addition, alternative materials will also produce carbon emissions and waste during production, manufacturing, and transportation. Environmental issues such as waste and wastewater require careful assessment of the environmental impact of materials throughout their life cycle.

Finally, for the inevitable plastic waste in tea packaging, the report recommends that recycling should be promoted by adopting easy-to-recycle designs and improving recycling processes to reduce the generation of final waste.

The report shows that if various measures are fully implemented, the total waste in the new tea and beverage industry can be reduced to 419,700 tons by 2030, a decrease of 21.82% from 2024, and a decrease of 66.18% compared with the "business as usual" situation.

The report finally emphasized that to achieve the industry's zero-waste goal, it relies on the systematic transformation of the consumer environment, of which enterprises are only one part. It is also necessary to improve plastic reduction policies and obtain active participation and support from consumers to jointly promote transformation.

Li Chenyang said: "Global consumer choices are driving various industries towards sustainable development, and New Tea is no exception. Milk tea does not have to be bundled with 'disposable'. With the participation of consumers, green transformation will bring new trends and opportunities to new tea drinks."