Xiao Yu (a pseudonym), an employee who once worked in a mineral water plant in Qingdao, was sensitive not only to his previous professional experience, but also because “everyone in this business is well aware of it, not a secret.â€
He will soon spend his newly-married speech and eventually convince his girlfriend not to add a water dispenser to her new home. He had already become accustomed to living as much as he could when he was thirsty. It was really thirsty, and he preferred to drink carbonated drinks such as Coca-Cola and drink water from a drinking bucket.
“The biggest gain from my previous work experience is that I learned that the source of many drinking buckets is not clear.†Xiao Yu said frankly to the China Youth Daily reporter.
"Selling water does not make money, selling barrels only makes money"
"A lot of water stations seem to be doing water business. What they really do is barrel business." After many years of fumbling over this line, Xiao Yu told reporters the doorway: sell water does not make money, sell barrels Only earn money.
Seemingly the same shape, in fact, the material of the drinking water barrels sold on the market vary widely. Xiao Yu reminded reporters that if they were observed with the naked eye, some drinking water barrels were transparent and smooth, with a pure light blue color, and the texture was even without impurities; some were dark and boring, dark blue and blue, and the colors were dull. The transparency is poor, and the walls of the barrels are often dark spots; others are milky white, have rough surfaces, many scratches, and poor transparency. "Only the first one is the regular drinking water barrel." Xiao Yu said.
When an expert from the Shandong Beverage Association accepted an interview with this reporter, the drinking water barrels currently appearing on the market were divided into four categories: food-grade new material PC (scientific name polycarbonate) barrels, non-food-grade PC barrels, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) barrels and black barrels made of waste plastic, poor quality waste, discarded discs, and even foreign waste.
The expert pointed out that according to the “Examination Rules for Production Permits for Food Plastic Packaging, Containers, and Tools†promulgated by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), PET barrels do not fall within the certification scope of products such as food plastic packaging, containers, and tools. In addition, the GB19304-2003 Code of Hygienic Practice for Drinking Water Products of Stereotyped Packaging, implemented on May 1, 2004, stipulates that recycled barrels must be made of polycarbonate (PC) material in order to ensure the integrity of the barrels after multiple collections. Quality; It is forbidden to use scraps and recycle barrels or bottles made from old PC materials.
The reason why there are such strict rules is entirely for the health of consumers. The expert explained that PET material would produce harmful substances when subjected to high temperatures, which would seriously threaten consumers' physical and mental health; long-term drinking of water in black buckets would damage the body's digestive and nervous systems, leading to dizziness, stomach pain and other diseases.
"The only one that truly meets the health and safety standards is the first, but PET barrels and black barrels are currently rampant in the market," said the expert.
So, how does the water supply station make money from drinking water barrels? According to Xiao Yu’s experience, the water supply station purchased the old barrel at a price of 10 to 20 yuan, and after reinstalling it, it generally charged a consumer deposit of around 50 yuan. For a long time, such unguaranteed drinking water barrels are prone to leaks, bursts, and other problems, so that the water supply station is equal to making a consumer's deposit.
A disadvantaged consumer only sells damaged pots of drinking water to scrap yards for a few dollars. Finally, the buckets are either reconditioned for sale after being sold to the waterworks, or they are sold to a special black barrel processing plant and become new barrels that are sold to consumers again.
Xiao Yu said that in order to respond to inspections by the quality inspection department, some water plants tend to shoddy - when they are sent for inspection, they use food-grade new material PC barrels; the real ones are PET barrels and black barrels. "How to do it, everyone has a few in mind."
According to an industry source who did not wish to be identified, he confirmed to reporters that at present, there are more than half of black barrels and PET barrels in the drinking water barrel market in Qingdao.
The quality of drinking water barrels is so poor that many workers at water stations do not drink their own bottled water. Xiao Yu repeatedly emphasized to reporters, "This is not an exaggeration." Some of his friends at the water station have always been so.
Bucket costs determine profits in the drinking water industry
Four different material buckets filled with the same quality of pure water, what will be the difference after a period of time?
In 2008, when Quanwa Drinking Water Co., Ltd. was established, Chen Jianhai, the current general manager of water quality analysis, chose an even more interesting experiment in order to select a better drinking water tank.
The four types of drinking water tanks are the new food grade PC barrels, non-food PC barrels, PET barrels, and black barrels. After more than 20 days of placement, the test results surprised Chen Jianhai.
With the naked eye, the water placed in different drinking water barrels did not change much, but the difference in water quality was obvious after testing by professional instruments: the water in food grade brand new PC barrels did not dissolve in any impurities; non-food grade The PC barrels and black barrels contained many organic substances and heavy metals. Most of the impurities in the PET barrels were found in the PET barrels. Dioxins classified as first-class carcinogens by the International Cancer Research Center were found in them.
Chen Jianhai introduced that the domestic production of food-grade new material PC barrels of masterbatch is currently all imported from Germany and the United States, the price per ton of raw materials is about 27,000 yuan, which led to its higher cost, the wholesale price of 30 yuan each .
"As the water plant competition intensifies, some manufacturers have begun to make a fuss about drinking water barrels in order to maximize profits, and they are trying hard to lower the cost of drinking water barrels," said the expert from the Shandong Beverage Industry Association.
Compared to the high cost of regular manufacturers' PC barrels, the prices of PET barrels and black barrels produced by some manufacturers are low, which is astounding.
“In the wholesale market of Linyi, the wholesale price of a PET barrel is only 6.7 yuan; in the southern provinces such as Zhejiang, specializing in the production of black barrels, the wholesale price of each black barrel is 15 to 25 yuan, and due to the material of the black barrel Different and different, often the more impurities the more cheaper. "The said experts from the Shandong Beverage Industry Association said.
Many water station owners refer to the high-quality PC buckets produced by Chen Jianhai as “white bucketsâ€. Xiao Yu told reporters about the "business case" of a water station boss's friend: The regular "white barrels" are made of imported materials, and the ratio between the price of barrels and water can be as high as 20:1. In general, the life of each “white barrel†is about two and a half years. If a water station sells 1,000 barrels of water per month, at least 10,000 buckets will be needed as a working stock in the entire production and circulation period. If "white barrels" are used, then the capital investment in the water storage buckets of the water supply station will require more than 300,000 yuan. Two and a half years later, in order to continue operations, it is necessary to reinvest about 10,000 new barrels. Obviously, such high costs are unbearable to them.
Faced with the increasingly serious industrial chaos, Chen Jianhai reluctantly stated: “It's all costs.†At the same time, he admits that even Quanwa Company, which has half the market share in Jinan, feels this low. Price competition has a great impact on the normal market order. According to him, at present, the cheapest pot for drinking water in the Jinan market is only 3 yuan.
No national standard
Since the establishment of the company more than two years ago, in addition to normal management, “fighting†has involved a considerable part of the energy and time of Chen Jianhai.
“The object of anti-counterfeiting is all kinds of black barrels and PET barrels. Some small processing plants deceive consumers with our brand logos and damage our corporate image,†said Chen Jianhai.
In the past two years, on the “3.15†Consumer Rights Protection Day, Quan Hai’s Drinking Water Co., Ltd., where Chen Jianhai was located, joined the local industry and commerce, quality inspection and other departments to enter the community together, encouraging residents to donate old drinking buckets at home, and then buying. Three Quanwa Bucket Water Tickets can be exchanged for a PC drinking bucket made of new materials.
In order to increase the effectiveness of the publicity and show the company's counterfeit determination, the company’s staff will see the old barrels recovered and completely destroyed at the scene. In the past two years, Chen Jianhai has recovered more than 40,000 unqualified drinking buckets in this way.
Facing the challenge of “beautiful showâ€, Chen Jianhai calculated such an account for reporters: The recovered damaged drinking water buckets can only be sold to waste collection stations. Each black bucket sells for 5 to 10 yuan, and each PET bucket sells only. For $1, the three water tickets sold to residents total RMB 21, while the retail price of PC barrels for each new brand is RMB 50. It is not difficult to figure out that every time a black bucket or PET barrel is recovered, Chen Jianhai’s company can lose between a dozen and twenty yuan.
"The cost of counterfeiting is really too high." Chen Jianhai reluctantly said.
In September 2010, Chen Jianhai had used the opportunity to speak with Qingdao Laoshan mineral water, Tsingtao and other manufacturers responsible person. Chen Jianhai recalled that the industrial chaos of drinking water barrels and the high cost of cracking down on them have caused headaches for entrepreneurs.
“The industry standard for standardizing polycarbonate drinking buckets should be top priority.†The experts from the Shandong Beverage Industry Association emphasized to this reporter.
Similar industry standards do not exist. The Minister of Light Industry of Qingdao Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute, Minister Liu explained to this reporter that as early as 1999, the National Plastics Product Standardization Technical Committee had organized relevant agencies to draft a mandatory industry standard QB2460-1999 "Polycarbonate (PC). Potable Water Tank, and started to implement in September 2000.
The experts from the Shandong Beverage Industry Association stated that although Shanghai and other provinces and cities have also formulated local standards after that, there are no national or industry product standards for drinking water tanks processed from PET barrels and other materials, and there is no ban on production and use. Currently, production and sales are carried out according to corporate standards. However, some corporate standards or local standards have leakage behavior when referring to relevant hygienic performance standards and are prone to quality loopholes.
In addition, how to recycle and use drinking water barrels more scientifically and regulatedly is also a problem faced by related companies. According to Chen Jianhai, Quanwa’s recycling cycle for drinking water barrels is 40 times. For damaged, obsolete PC barrels, the company will sell it to local manufacturers who produce acrylic plates. According to the reporter's understanding, in addition to acrylic plates, drinking water barrels are crushed and are still an important raw material for making greenhouses, roofs, and sun boards.
“Of course, there are also some companies that sell damaged and eliminated potable water barrels to black barrels processing companies, causing a vicious circle within the industry. Therefore, issues concerning recycling, transportation, and disposal after the elimination of drinking water barrels are worthy of study by relevant departments. To solve the problem, the relevant regulations should be formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Food Sanitation Law,†said the expert from the Shandong Beverage Industry Association.
"QB2460-1999 "PC (Polycarbonate (PC) Potable Water Tank" was only an industry standard after all, and it is not enough. We expect that the country will introduce more standard mandatory standards, supplemented by relevant laws and regulations, and allow illegal profits. The factory cannot survive, encourage the survival of the fittest, and ultimately be responsible for the health of consumers.†Chen Jianhai called for.
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