How Can The Composite Decking Develop Better

Wood Plastic composite materials are an imported product that was introduced from North America to China in the late 1990s. This material not only combines the dual advantages of wood and plastic in performance, but more importantly, it has significant low-carbon and environmentally friendly characteristics. It is precisely because of the above characteristics that woodplastic composite materials have received high attention as early as the 11th Five Year Plan period. In 2008, wood plastic composite materials made their debut at the Beijing Olympics, creating a beautiful public business card. Afterwards, wood plastic composite materials frequently appeared in large-scale public events such as the Shanghai World Expo and the Guangzhou Asian Games, showcasing the charm of this new material to the world time and time again.

Research data shows that using 1 ton of plastic wood material is equivalent to reducing 1.82 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, reducing 1 cubic meter of deforestation, saving 80 barrels of crude oil, and saving 11 tons of standard coal. These demonstration effects have greatly driven the development of the plastic wood composite material industry in China, and have also attracted the attention of relevant national management departments.

In 2011, China's production of  wood plastic composite materials exceeded 700000 tons, with an average annual growth rate of over 20% in recent years. There are over 500 mainstream production enterprises, and nearly 30% of their products are exported to Europe and America. China has become the world's largest producer and exporter of plastic wood composite material.

Since the 11th Five Year Plan, more than 60 projects in the wood plastic composite material industry have received support from relevant departments. During the 12th Five Year Plan period, with the deepening of China's low-carbon economy, wood plastic composite materials have also followed the trend of national energy conservation, emission reduction, and circular economy, highlighting enormous potential.

In order to promote the development of plastic wood composite materials and improve the utilization rate of crop waste such as straw and waste plastics, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on December 10, 2011, requiring the establishment of several wood plastic composite material industry bases in China during the 12th Five Year Plan period, supporting 4-5 plastic wood composite material equipment production enterprises and 100-150 wood plastic composite material production enterprises. 

However, a distributor of wood plastic composite materials in Zhejiang stated that the export-oriented wood wood plastic composite material industry is currently facing unprecedented difficulties. Affected by the European debt crisis, the industry's export volume declined significantly year-on-year in 2011, and the number of dealers also saw a sharp decline. As a result, export enterprises have gradually shifted their main battlefield to the domestic market. Faced with the fiercely competitive domestic market, many plastic wood composite material production enterprises have expressed that product diversification and serialization are important ways to solve production and operation difficulties. In addition to building materials, enterprises should accelerate the application and development of plastic wood composite materials in indoor decoration, furniture, and other fields.

More importantly, compared with foreign countries, a considerable number of plastic wood products in China are still at a relatively low-end level. Currently, they mainly focus on outdoor flooring and landscape materials, and their applications in high-end fields such as home decoration, furniture manufacturing, and automotive parts are almost blank. According to industry insiders, plastic wood composite materials originating from developed countries such as Europe and America are currently widely used and technologically mature abroad. Downstream industries include construction, decoration, furniture, logistics, packaging, landscaping, municipal engineering, transportation, and more. People can not only see the presence of plastic wood composite materials in outdoor villas, pavilions, green landscapes, and municipal facilities, but also in indoor decoration materials, home furnishings, flooring and other fields, plastic wood composite materials are also popular among consumers. In recent years, plastic wood composite materials have also entered high-end application fields such as automotive parts. Germans even used it in high-end sedans such as Mercedes Benz and BMW, highlighting the trend of high-end development. 

Regarding this situation, Liu Jia, Secretary General of the Plastic Wood Composite Materials Professional Committee of the China Association for Comprehensive Utilization of Resources, stated that further developing and expanding the application market is the top priority for the plastic wood industry. In recent years, the industry has also made many efforts in this regard. "In recent years, in order to expand the influence and popularity of plastic wood products and accelerate the pace of market promotion, we have racked our brains in the development of product varieties." Liu Jia told reporters that in recent years, the Plastic Wood Composite Materials Special Committee has made full use of large-scale events such as the Beijing Olympics, Shanghai World Expo, and Guangzhou Asian Games to promote plastic wood materials. At the same time, they are constantly researching and exploring market application fields. At present, in addition to traditional park green fences, floors, pavilions, etc., a large amount of plastic wood composite materials are also being used in flower beds, corridors, and street lights in municipal greening projects. Some companies also make plastic wood composite materials into calendars, speaker shells, and even commemorative stamps, showing a trend towards refined and high-end products

As a new material that can save materials and replace wood, after more than a decade of independent development, plastic wood composite materials are gradually developing into an emerging industry. Especially during the 12th Five Year Plan period, when energy conservation and emission reduction efforts continue to strengthen and circular economy development is on the rise, the plastic wood composite material industry with advantages such as resource utilization of raw materials, product plasticization, and environmental protection and renewable energy has followed the trend of sustainable development and highlighted increasing development potential. The reporter learned in recent interviews that, like many emerging industries, the plastic wood composite material industry is currently facing various difficulties in the early stages of development. Factors such as limited product varieties, incomplete standards, and lack of customs codes have hindered the development of the industry. To shape the future competitiveness of the industry, there are still many problems that need to be solved in the plastic wood composite material industry.