To eliminate the casualties caused by pesticides, from the selection of packaging materials and forms to the setting of label content, to the recycling of waste packaging, every link needs to be firmly checked.
"Plastic generation of glass" trend
Two-thirds of pesticides produced in China are liquid formulations. For a long time, liquid pesticides have been packaged in glass bottles. However, glass bottles have the disadvantages of high breakage rate, poor sealing of the glass bottle, and inconvenient metering. Plastic containers have the advantages of light weight, durability, accurate measurement, and low overall packaging cost. "Plastics for glass" has become an irreversible trend in the development of pesticide packaging. New types of plastic packaging such as water-soluble packaging bags, high-barrier pesticide bottles and other products have emerged.
Water soluble packaging bag
Water-soluble plastic packaging bags are widely used in the packaging of pesticides in Europe, the United States, Japan, and other countries. There are more and more applications in China.
Water-soluble plastic packaging bags are made of water-soluble packaging film with low alcohol content of polyvinyl alcohol as the main raw material. It is used to package a certain amount of pesticide preparations. When used, it only needs to put the required dose of medicine packet into the quantitative water, the packaging bag will dissolve on its own, and the medicine will be dispersed in water. On the one hand, users do not need to directly contact pesticides to avoid the occurrence of poisoning; on the other hand, the measurement is accurate and avoid excessive or insufficient use of pesticides.
Since the raw material is a thin film, the quality is very light, which not only effectively reduces the transportation cost, but also does not cause problems such as easy leakage due to loose sealing of the stopper and difficulty in recovery. This kind of simple, safe and environmentally friendly packaging application has a very broad prospect.
High-resistance pesticide bottle
The composition of pesticides is very complex, and more aggressive organic solvents such as toluene and xylene are used. The use of ordinary polyethylene bottles to store pesticides often leads to problems such as penetration of pesticides from the walls of containers, increased moisture content of contained pesticides, cracking and deformation of containers. Therefore, high barrier plastic containers including multi-layer co-extruded bottles and fluorinated bottles have attracted the attention of manufacturers. Multi-layer co-extruded bottles, the inner layer is nylon or polyvinyl alcohol, both have excellent resistance to gas permeation, the barrier effect is improved by several dozen times than ordinary polyethylene bottles, and the storage period is greatly extended. The inner wall of the fluorinated bottle is a fluoroplastic layer such as PTFE, which can prevent the penetration of organic solvents and the degradation of the product. In terms of barrier effect, multi-layer co-extruded bottles of 100 ml or less are better than fluorinated bottles, but the larger the specifications, the stronger the fluorinated bottle is.
Built-in measuring bottle
At present, most farmers do not use a meter when applying pesticides, and measure the cap of the bottle when taking the medicine. However, the bottle cap does not have a metering function, and the actual amount of the drug taken is mostly high.
The plastic bottle with a built-in meter widely used in Europe and the United States has solved this problem. When using, only need to squeeze the bottle by hand, so that the liquid through a catheter rise into the meter, to achieve the required dose, open the lid to the pharmacy directly into the water. The medicament does not come in contact with the operator's hand from the vial to the sprayer, and is both convenient and safe. In China, the development and application of this kind of packaging have yet to be further strengthened.
Grasp the label off
In addition to injury or death caused by improper packaging or handling of the packaging containers, there are times when the dosage or method used for pesticides is a mistake. Therefore, pesticide labels and instructions as carriers for pesticide product description should be given full attention.
The Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Pesticides stipulates that in addition to the pesticide registration number, production approval number, and product implementation standard number, the name of the pesticide, the name of the company, the active ingredient of the pesticide, its content, weight, product performance, Toxicity, use, use, date of manufacture, expiration date and precautions.
Pesticide packaging common symbols
Pesticide symbols marked on pesticide packages and pesticide use manuals are generally composed of 1 to 3 letters of the alphabet. Some represent pesticide formulations, and some represent pesticides measurement and concentration.
In terms of pesticide formulations, "EC" represents EC, which is the most common pesticide symbol. For example, "dimethoate" 40EC refers to 40% dimethoate EC. "OL" means oil agent, such as "Liconazole OL". Liqueurin oil; "ES" means emulsion, latex, emulsion, emulsion; "WG" means dispersible granules in water; "LS" means solution for seed treatment, and the like.
In the measurement and concentration of pesticides, "kg/ha" means kilograms per hectare; "ppm" means the concentration in parts per million, which is generally changed to 10-6 or mg/kg; "TLM" is a measure of the toxicity of pesticides to fish. Force size indicator; "LD50" indicates lethal or median lethal dose.
There are also specific terms for pesticides, such as "TM" for registered trademarks, "GLC" for gas chromatography, and "IPM" for integrated control.
The mark should be popular and true
The content of pesticide labeling should be simple, accurate and scientific, so that the user can understand and master the correct use of the product; the content should be true and consistent with the product registration approval.
Pesticide product names should be highlighted in bold and prominently located on the entire label. In addition, the full name and content of the common name of each active ingredient contained in the product, and the corresponding international common name should also be marked.
Pesticide product quality assurance period can be marked in any of the following three forms: indicate the production date (or lot number) and quality assurance period; indicate the product lot number and effective date; indicate the product lot number and expiration date. The labels of the individual products should be marked with the date of manufacture and the date of disassembly.
There are three main types of logos on pesticide packaging. One is the pesticide toxicity label, and its labeling should be in accordance with the relevant regulations of the national pesticide toxicity classification mark and labeling; the other is the color label tape of the pesticide category, which is usually a label with a base that is parallel to the bottom and is not faded. The category features color marking strips to indicate different types of pesticides, such as "green" herbicides, "red" insecticide (fleas, molluscs), etc.; and a pictogram that is convenient and safe to use pesticides. It is usually printed in black and white and placed at the bottom of the label.
Strengthen packaging recovery
According to statistics, there are about 3.2 billion pesticide packaging wastes in China each year. These pesticide packaging wastes are arbitrarily abandoned in rivers and fields, polluting groundwater sources, and causing great harm to humans and the environment. How to deal with these packaging wastes in a timely manner is a top priority.
Over the years, the recycling of pesticide packaging waste has been difficult to carry out, the main reasons are the following: China has no uniform and standardized management system for the recycling of pesticide packaging waste; China too many small-scale pesticide production enterprises, and these companies do not have the ability Recycling of packaging wastes; Some companies also have difficulties in handling the recycling of pesticide packaging waste. For example, some containers are broken and can no longer be used. Bottles and labels are difficult to clean, so companies are reluctant to recycle.
Some insiders suggested that comprehensive management of pesticide packaging waste should be implemented. First of all, under the premise of mastering the status of pollution and treatment of pesticide waste in China, we must formulate laws and regulations that are in line with national conditions and are effective, and effectively incorporate the treatment of pesticide waste into the legal system. Second, according to the regional division of East, West and South, establish five pesticide waste processing centers. In the region, choose a pesticide production enterprise that has strong strength, standardized management and pesticide packaging waste disposal to help improve its pesticide packaging waste disposal capacity. Third, in order to facilitate the cleaning and recycling of packaged recyclables, pesticide manufacturers increase the use of high barrier plastic bottles and large-diameter bottle plastic bottles.
The relevant personnel of the State Environmental Protection Administration recently stated that the Bureau has already included the handling of pesticide packaging waste into the environmental protection planning schedule. It is believed that a standardized management system will be introduced soon.
Source: China Pesticide Network