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Turning plastic packaging from \"coats\" into \"T-shirts\" – this is a new type of biaxially oriented polyethylene (BOPE) developed independently by Sinopec. On July 7, reporters learned from Sinopec that the BOPE-specific materials and film products developed independently by its Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Technology have been tested and found to meet world-leading performance standards, filling a gap in China’s industry. It is said that BOPE films can reduce the thickness of plastic packaging, thereby cutting the amount of packaging material used by about 30%. It’s like products that originally required a \"fleece jacket\" can now be used with just a \"T-shirt\" for a lighter setup. According to Wu Changjiang, head of the key technology development project for functional polymer membrane materials in Sinopec’s major projects and director of the Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Technology, the specialized BOPE materials and film products are the result of years of dedicated research and development by the company. BOPE film is a high-performance film product made from polyethylene resin with a specially designed molecular structure, through a special biaxial stretching process. Compared with traditional polyethylene films, BOPE films not only possess better toughness, stiffness, puncture resistance, and low-temperature impact resistance, but also exhibit improved transparency, printing properties, and higher production efficiency. BOPE films have broad application prospects in areas such as vacuum packaging for rice, packaging for frozen foods, and transparent flexible packaging for beverages. Taking China’s high-end rice in 2019 as an example, the production and sales volume for that year was around 1 million tons. If domestically produced BOPE products were used to replace the materials traditionally used for rice packaging, it would be possible to save approximately 60 million yuan in packaging costs, as well as reduce plastic consumption by about 5,500 tons. The new packaging can also reduce the rate of package damage, thereby better preserving the quality of the rice. Furthermore, the BOPE+CPE all-polyethylene packaging products, made from materials and films that also possess Sinopec’s own intellectual property rights in the form of cast polyethylene (CPE), offer the advantage of being recyclable and reusable. They meet the requirements set by the strategy for developing a circular economy as well as the objectives outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan regarding the recyclability of plastic products, thereby satisfying the market’s demand for environmentally friendly packaging.