Have you ever thought that the small paper cup you hold when drinking milk tea or coffee might be the starting point of "flying to the moon"?
That's right, according to the calculations made by scientists (or maybe just us):
📏 The average distance between the Earth and the Moon is about 384,400 kilometers
🥤 Each paper cup is about 10cm high
🧮 It would take 3.844 billion paper cups laid end to end to “line up from the earth to the moon”
⚖️ Each paper cup weighs about 7 grams, and the total weight of food cardboard is about 27,460 tons
It sounds cool, but the reality is frowned upon: hundreds of billions of disposable paper cups are discarded or burned every year, posing environmental challenges no less than this "Galaxy Paper Cup Chain".
When "small paper cups" meet "big environmental protection": the embarrassing situation of disposable paper cups
❶ Why are traditional paper cups not environmentally friendly?
•Most paper cups in use today are inseparable from PE (polyethylene) coating. Although it is waterproof and oil-repellent, it is difficult to degrade and has become a "plastic flower that will not wither for 500 years."
• Brands with strong environmental awareness are switching to expensive PLA paper cups on a small scale, claiming to be "recyclable and degradable". However, in fact, PLA paper cups are extremely difficult to recycle and repulp, and it is also very challenging to degrade in an industrial composting environment. Most of them are recycled and incinerated, and the actual application effect is worrying.
❷ If the quantity is too large, the problem will be bigger
•There are not hundreds of millions of paper cups, but hundreds of billions every year! A paper cup may seem as light as a feather, but when gathered together, it is enough to collapse the city's environmental protection system.
•It is difficult to recycle and the cost of reuse is high. The scavengers pick out paper cups before throwing them away. Disposable paper cups have become the invisible main force of "white pollution".
❸ Drinking one cup after another makes you happy. What to do with the waste paper cups?
•For example, Shanghai leads the country in garbage classification, but disposable paper cups are neither “recyclable” nor can they be sold for money, so no one is willing to pick them up.
•Millions of paper cups go into incinerators every day in a city. Industrial landfill sites are tight and incineration emissions are under pressure. The "last mile" of green city construction is stuck here.
2. The "Earth to the Moon" idea is not only romantic, but also backed by professional data
📐 Distance between Earth and Moon: 384,400,000 meters
🥤 Paper cup height: 0.1 meters
🧮 Number of paper cups required: 3,844,000,000 (3.844 billion)
In fact, these paper cups are all difficult to recycle and non-biodegradable, and have long become a green trouble for various countries;
If it can be recycled, waste can be turned into treasure and the value chain can be reshaped.
3. DBC’s problem-solving ideas:
From DPU™ environmentally friendly high-performance materials to Bioten™ biopolymer water-based coatings
✅ 2012-2020: DBC environmentally friendly high-performance materials accumulation period
DBC joined hands with BASF to develop a series of environmentally friendly high-performance materials that “seem to be far away from paper cups, but are actually closely related”:
•DPU™ environmentally friendly and durable plastic track
•Antux™ bio-based emulsion paint
•CASU™ battery additives and adhesives...
This laid a solid foundation for the subsequent birth of Bioten™ biopolymer.
“The things that small paper cups can do are often inseparable from the technological progress of the materials behind them.”
✅ 2021: Respond to plastic restrictions and enter green packaging
•Facing the current situation of paper cups that are difficult to recycle and degrade, DBC is determined to "undertake major surgery"
•Officially launched water-based barrier research and development plan
✅ 2022-2024: Technical research, small-scale trial production
•DBC collaborates with industrial chain partners such as paper giant APP, chemical giant BASF, and cup maker Li Le Technology to innovate,
Launched water-based paper cups with the triple characteristics of "recyclable and repulpable, biodegradable, and microwaveable"
•Initially launched into high-end consumption scenarios such as coffee, milk tea, and fast food in international markets such as Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia, and gained recognition from both the market and users. However, due to our high costs, it is difficult to universally replace the market.
✅February 28, 2025: World premiere of large-scale mass production, accelerating the journey to the moon
•With the breakthrough of APP APP Sinar Mas and Bohui Paper’s online high-speed continuous coating technology, the world’s first large-scale production of Zero Plastic™ EPP food cardboard water-based barrier technology that combines environmental protection and performance has been realized
🔁 High efficiency + low cost + great environmental protection trinity
•Food cardboard uses Bioten™ biopolymer water-based barrier adhesive jointly developed by BASF's advanced technology Bioten™ and DBC, enabling each paper cup to be recycled and repulped for more than 6 times, opening up a new trend in the carbon-negative development of technologically innovative products for green packaging companies.
4. What’s so great about Bioten’s biopolymer water-based barrier technology?
✨ 1. No need to use plastic film, it can also effectively block
•Abandon PE/PLA film and switch to water-based barrier technology for one-time online high-speed coating.
In terms of practicality: waterproof, oil-resistant, heat-sealing, and printability are all available.
♻️ 2. Recycling rate as high as 98.8%
•Paper cups certified by PTS and using water-based barrier technology can be directly put into the repulping system for easy and efficient reuse
•The paper fiber recovery rate is as high as 98.8%, with almost no loss.
🥛 3. Food grade safety certification, suitable for both hot and cold consumption
•Authoritative standards that pass FDA, GB, BfR and other food contact regulations
•Whether it’s iced American style, hot latte, milk tea, soup, or burger paper, you can hold it for the entire audience
5. Collaborative industrial chain: Make “small paper cup, big cycle” come true
Our upstream and downstream: raw materials and paper making
•Cooperate with top companies in the industry such as BASF, APP Sinar Mas Group, and Bohui Paper to ensure high-quality raw materials and high-speed coating stability for papermaking
Midstream Us: Development of functional biopolymer emulsions
•Expand environmental protection technology to multiple application scenarios such as food packaging, industrial packaging, express packaging, daily necessities packaging, electronic packaging, etc.
Whole industry chain: jointly building advanced recycling standards
•We collaborate with BASF and Sinar Mas Group to work with paper container manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, restaurant chain brands, takeout platforms and other partners to design leading group standards, local standards, industry standards, and national standards
•Introducing recycling and recycled pulp companies to jointly build a closed-loop resource recycling ecosystem
6. The romance of “Earth to the Moon” and the reality of a unified national market
🌙 Romance VS Reality
Using 3.844 billion paper cups to pave an "earth-moon tunnel" sounds romantic, but it is actually an environmental "alarm": the consumption of paper cups is huge, and the potential pollution risks are alarming.
DBC's goal is not to "really reach the moon", but to allow every paper cup to enter the recycling system and truly achieve sustainable development with technological rigor.
🌱 Green consumption × dual carbon goals
•The technological breakthrough of water-based barrier paper cups means a significant reduction in the consumption of PLA/PE paper cups
•At the same time, we have also exported this product to Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, the United States and other regions
Driven by green technology, we will form the competitive strength of global green and low-carbon innovation, reduce costs and increase efficiency, enhance international competitiveness, and help the internal circulation of China's economy.
📦 A new green outlet under China’s unified market
•Standardization and large-scale water-based paper cups are the only way to achieve national green packaging coordinated carbon reduction
•For brands, this is a “green business card” that delivers value, enhances image, and enhances market competitiveness.
✅ Let your imagination shine into reality and cheer for China with the power of "cup"!
The imagination of going from the earth to the moon is a romantic idea.
It is also a warning light for resource consumption.
DBC hopes that every one of you and me holding a paper cup will
All can contribute to green consumption.
Changing the world does not have to be earth-shattering; starting with a small paper cup can also ignite the flame of environmental protection and help "double carbon" China.
🌍 DBC collaborates with the industrial chain value network to use "small paper cups" to leverage "big environmental protection" and empower China's unified large market. ——Make packaging more environmentally friendly and make the earth a better place!
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