In 2026, domestic and international plastic pollution control policies will continue to increase, with domestic dual carbon policies, special actions for plastic pollution control, combined with EU PPWR new regulations, international plastic taxes and other trade constraints, completely changing the development pattern of the plastic packaging industry. The market space for traditional non degradable, multi-layer difficult to recycle plastic packaging products continues to shrink, and the industry bids farewell to extensive development and enters a comprehensive compliance and low-carbon iteration stage.

The pace of replacing green materials continues to accelerate, and biodegradable plastic technologies such as PLA and PBAT continue to mature, with costs steadily decreasing. They are widely used in scenarios such as catering, express delivery, and fresh produce. At the same time, the large-scale application of rPET and rPE recycled plastics has accelerated the popularization of fully recycled material packaging by leading brands, and the construction of a packaging closed-loop system has become the core lever for enterprises to reduce carbon emissions and comply with regulations.

Reduction and easy recycling have become the core principles of product design. The industry generally abandons complex composite structures and adhesive processes, and vigorously promotes single material plastic packaging and lightweight thin-walled packaging. This mode not only retains the practical advantages of waterproof, drop resistant, and high barrier properties of plastic packaging, but also significantly improves the recycling rate, balancing product performance and environmental protection needs.

Green transformation raises the technological, financial, and compliance thresholds of the industry, and small and medium-sized workshops are accelerating their clearance due to outdated production capacity and environmental non-compliance. Leading enterprises with new material research and development and circular production capabilities continue to expand their market share, gradually forming a new competitive pattern of scale, standardization, and greening in the industry.