重磅 ｜ 彭博媒体专访: Recycling Is Not Only Fun But Also Profitable

Children’s graduations, beloved pets, family vacations, uplifting art.

孩子们的毕业季，心爱的宠物，家庭旅行，令人振奋的艺术……

Around the world, hundreds of millions of picture frames are sold every year, adorning our offices, homes and lobbies with scenes of everyday levity and reminders of personal milestones; fusing sterile spaces with glimpses of warmth and personality.

每年，全球销售上亿片相框，它们记录生活美好日常和人生重要时刻，无论是办公桌，抑或是你的家里，他们的身影随处可见，为原本冷漠的环境带来了温暖和个性。

Driven by the global boom in residential and commercial building projects, and the accompanying demand for interior design, global picture frame revenue is expected to exceed $8.8 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 5.2% (Straits Research).

随着全球建筑行业的蓬勃发展，室内装饰需求随之增加，受此带动，全球相框市场销售额有望于2030年超过88亿美元，复合年增长率约5.5%（海峡研究）。

INTCO Recycling (688087:Shanghai) is one of the world’s largest makers of picture frames – to the figure of 45 million a year, and counts a long list of major consumer brands like Target, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Hobby Lobby, Zara Home and Nitori among its buyers.

英科再生是全球最大的相框制造商之一，服务于Target, The home depot, Lowe’s, Hobby Lobby, Zara Home and Nitori等全球知名零售店。

With Europe the fastest-growing market for picture frames and North America the largest market to date, many of us are already in daily contact with INTCO Recycling’s decorative products, even if we don’t realize it. Less visible is the end-to-end process of plastic recycling and reuse that goes into INTCO’s frames – a process that transforms styrofoam waste into essential ornaments. "There is no such thing as waste, only resources in the wrong place,” notes INTCO Recycling’s CEO, Frank Liu.

目前，北美是相框最大的消费市场，欧洲则是发展最迅速的市场。即使没有意识到，我们中的许多人已经在日常使用英科的装饰产品了。“垃圾是放错位置的资源”英科再生董事长刘方毅言道。

To trace the journey from trash to treasure, we’ll start at the beginning.

让我们现在探寻这一“变废为宝”的旅程。

THE STYROFOAM DILEMMA

泡沫塑料的“困局”

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) – better known by its trademarked brand name, Styrofoam – is a hardworking material. Shaped and molded into our lives in everything from takeaway cups to furniture packaging, it protects us in the form of helmets, life vests and children’s car seats; it keeps our food fresh and our gifts intact.

发泡聚苯乙烯（EPS）- 以其商标 Styrofoam 而得名 - 是一种“万金油”材料。 经过模塑加工，广泛应用于我们生活中的方方面面，例如：外卖杯子和家具包装等。它既可以化身头盔、救生衣、儿童座椅来保护我们的安全，也可以让我们的食品保持新鲜、让礼物完好无损。

But there’s a problem with EPS: the same properties that make it versatile, lightweight and industrially useful also make it challenging to recycle. EPS is 98% air. “It is difficult in the start-up stage of the recycling industry.

EPS面临一个困境，其中98%是空气，低密度和大体积使得它难以被回收，开始从事再生行业时是比较艰辛的，因为早期的拓荒者无论在技术、商业模式和客户接受度上都比较困难。

Only 30% of EPS is recycled every year. The other 70%, or an estimated two million tons, ends up improperly discarded, haphazardly burned or tucked away in landfills.

每年只有30%的EPS被回收利用，而剩余的70%，大约200万吨，被不当丢弃、随意焚烧或被当做垃圾填埋。

A COMPACT SOLUTION

压缩解决方案

EPS recycling rates also vary widely by country, from 0% in Iceland to 60% in the Netherlands (OceanWise) and 90% in Japan.

不同国家的EPS回收率差异明显，例如，冰岛的EPS回收率为0%，而荷兰和日本则分别达到了60%和90%。

To provide a solution for global recycling networks to keep more EPS out of landfills, INTCO Recycling independently developed a range of GREENMAX compactor machines that compress waste foam blocks to 1/50 of their original volume in minutes. With these technologies, INTCO Recycling has helped more than 1,000 recycling stations in 80 countries improve their recycling efficiency and reduce operating costs.

为了给全球回收商提供解决方案，英科自主研发了GREENMAX减容增密设备，可迅速将废泡沫压缩体积至原来的1/50。利用这些技术，已经帮助了80多个国家的1,000余个回收站点提升回收效率，减少回收成本。

Among these is Safeway, one of the largest food retailers in the United States. Across several thousand stores, including bakeries, delis, pharmacies and flower stores, as well as Starbucks and petrol stations, Safeway consumes large quantities of EPS packaging, but local recyclers are not always on hand to sort and remove the waste.

GREENMAX减容增密设备使用者之一，Safeway是美国大型连锁商超，旗下拥有上千个商店，涵盖烘焙店、食品店、药店和花店，以及星巴克和加油站等。Safeway使用了大量的EPS包装，但是本地的回收商并不能提供及时的分类、回收服务。

Since 2017, INTCO Recycling’s GREENMAX compactor and conveyor has enabled Safeway in Auburn, Washington to take EPS recycling in-house. On-site EPS compacting reduces the high truck and labor costs of packing and transporting waste to far-flung recycling facilities.

从2017年开始，英科GREENMAX压缩机在Safeway华盛顿站点投入使用，根本上解决Safeway自己回收及处理EPS的难题，大大减少了物流和人工成本。2022年，Safeway在其特雷西，加利福尼亚最大的仓库安装了另一台GREENMAX压缩机，这一方案将陆续覆盖他们更多站点。

BEYOND WASTE REDUCTION

不仅仅是减废

In 2022, INTCO Recycling recycled 60,000 tons of styrofoam waste across its global recycling networks, collectively eliminating 190,000 tons of global carbon emissions and avoiding 89,000 tons of landfill.

在2022年，英科通过其全球回收网络共回收了6万吨泡沫垃圾，共计减少了约19万吨碳排放，避免了8.9万吨垃圾被填埋。

“We have developed an end-to-end supply chain recycling solution, transforming recycled pellets into trendy, high-quality household and consumer goods. It’s a difficult process, but we were able to overcome the challenges through innovation,” says Liu.

“我们创新地打通了塑料循环再利用的全产业链，将塑料回收再生与时尚消费品运用完美嫁接。其中每一个环节都很难，合在一起更难。通过创新，我们成功了” 刘说。

INTCO Recycling's contribution to the green economy is multifaceted: not only do its compactor solutions reduce the volume of waste EPS, its automated production line further transforms recycled EPS into trendy, high-quality household and consumer goods, including picture frames, decorative moldings, wall panels and home products. INTCO Recycling has reduced 200,000 tons of carbon emissions, saved 300,000 tons of crude oil, and protected 2 million trees every year, an elegant and profitable solution for the recycling of waste EPS foam.

英科的贡献不仅仅是通过压缩方案减少废弃泡沫的体积，通过自动化生产系统和专业设计的巧思，更是将其蝶变为符合时下潮流的相框、画框、镜框等家居消费品，以及墙板、踢脚线、顶角线等装饰线条，每年减少20万吨碳排和30万吨原油，保护200万颗树木免于被砍伐。这是EPS泡沫塑料回收重生后，最具商业价值且非常精彩的应用领域。

FROM EPS FOAM TO PLASTIC TO BOTTLES

从泡沫跨越到饮料瓶

As a global leader in resource recycling, INTCO Recycling has not stopped pursuing innovation in the circular economy despite the success of EPS recycling. In 2018, INTCO Recycling launched its PET recycling base in Malaysia. Spanning the recycling of multiple types of plastics, this facility transforms beverage bottles into food-grade plastic.

作为资源再生领域的全球领导者，英科并未因EPS模式的成功而止步，2018年，英科在马来西亚建立了PET回收基地，在马来西亚建立了PET回收基地，涵盖多种塑料品类，可以将饮料瓶变为食品级塑料。

When it comes to plastic bottle recycling, many people think of family-owned recycling businesses, where liquids are poured out, labels are torn off, and caps are twisted off manually. With outdated recycling equipment and the direct discharge of toxic elements, these businesses often cause secondary pollution to the environment. The quality of recycled plastic products is generally poor and mainly sold to the low-end market.

提起瓶子回收，很多人第一印象是家庭作坊，人工倒污水、撕标贴、拧瓶盖。通过这种方式回收的瓶砖货源品质参差不齐、生产设备老旧、直接排放污染，造成环境的二次污染，其生产的再生塑料产品品质较差，主要供应低端市场。

This impressed Liu. "We realized we need to create a new model, relying on technological innovation to push plastic recycling into modernization and industrialization."

英科再生创始人刘方毅先生对此很感慨：“一开始我就决定开创一种新的模式，依靠技术创新，让塑料回收进入现代化、工业化。”

A DIFFICULT BUT WORTHWHILE CAUSE

难而有价值的事业

Having been in the recycling industry for more than 20 years, there are still many challenges to navigate. "Although we have developed an innovative end-to-end supply chain recycling solution and public awareness of environmental protection is increasing, the recycling industry is still struggling,” Liu explains. Billions in investments are needed for the construction of recycling factories and creation of new technologies.

踏入环保行业20载，英科仍然面临很多挑战。 “虽然我们创新的打通了废塑料从回收到再生利用的全产业链商业模式，公众的环保意识也在进一步提高，但回收行业仍举步维艰，建设一个回收再生工厂需要投资数十亿美元，以及若干创新的技术”，刘解释道。

"For instance, to recycle 50,000 tons of waste EPS foam, this waste must be imported from all over the world, but now the global market is fragmented. If every country rejects the import of waste plastics, there will be a negative influence on domestic capacity, which reduces economies of scale. The recycling industry is more complex than it was 20 years ago.” In addition, waste plastic is costly to purchase due to strict national policies. "Many countries have issued a plastic waste import prohibition decree, which seems superficially reasonable, but in fact, there are hundreds or thousands of types of plastics, and you can’t recycle them all from a specific country,” notes Liu.

“例如，要回收5万吨EPS塑料，不可能从一个国家获得全部所需，必须从全球回收，但现在全球市场是碎片化的。如果每个国家都不允许回收别人的废塑料，就不能大量生产回收，无法实现规模化经济效应。实际上，回收行业比20年前更困难。此外，由于政策严格废塑料的收购成本较高，很多国家都颁布了禁止进口塑料垃圾的法令，表面上看起来很合理，但实际上，塑料有成百上千种，不可能从一个国家全部回收。”

Despite these difficulties, Liu and his team still insist on their mission. “We have a dynamic and hardworking team making concerted efforts on a difficult but worthwhile cause. The recycling industry has a profound impact on the environment and society, leading to sustainable development.”

尽管有这些困难，刘和他的团队仍然坚持自己的使命。“我们拥有一个充满活力和拼劲的团队，齐心协力从事一项艰难而有价值的事业。回收行业很难，但是这个行业对环境和社会对影响是深远的、可持续发展的！”

BUILDING A BETTER WORLD

造福人类创造美好生活

Resource regeneration requires the efforts of everyone, including recyclers, entrepreneurs, governments and consumers. Unfortunately, public awareness remains limited.

“想要做好这件事，我们需要全人类的共同努力，包括民众、从业者、企业家、政治家。然而，大众对再生没有太大的意识。”

To this end, INTCO Recycling works with schools and educational institutions to advance environmental science education for more than 1,000 primary and middle school students every year. “Recycling is not only fun but also profitable. We need education to do it the right way,” says Liu.

“我们与学校、社区等开展很多交流合作，每年至少为1000多名中小学生做低碳环保科普教育。Recycling is not only fun but also profitable, you need education to do it the right way.“

As for INTCO Recycling, its team knows their mission of renewing the world is difficult but worthwhile.

“Sustainable materials, net-zero and a circular economy… INTCO Recycling has been committed to ESG for more than 20 years. What is the future of resource regeneration? We can’t wait to see it.”

对于英科再生而言，他们的团队深知“万物再生”这一使命是难而有价值的。“可持续材料、净零、循环经济......”，英科再生ESG之路已坚守了20余年，资源再生领域未来是什么？我们拭目以待！