Green Express Packaging Gains Momentum: Reduction, Reuse and Recycling Move Forward

During this year’s “Double 11” shopping festival, renewed consumer momentum put a spotlight on greener and leaner practices in express delivery.

From cutting packaging at the source and reusing it to refining transport systems, coordinated efforts by multiple parties are speeding up the sector’s green transition.

Placing deposits, calculating discounts, paying balances and opening parcels—the latest “Double 11” once again lifted online shopping activity.

The Guiding Opinions on Coordinating the Advancement of Green Packaging in the Express Delivery Industry, issued by 10 departments including the State Post Bureau and the National Development and Reform Commission, designates the first week of November each year as “Green Express Delivery Publicity Week.” As e-commerce expands, green and reduced express packaging has drawn growing public attention, with regulators, postal and express firms and consumers joining forces.

Multiple parties join forces for greener, leaner express packaging

A few days ago, Ms. He in Beijing’s Chaoyang District received a courier call at her office about fruit she had ordered. She asked the courier to leave it at the door, and he stressed: “Please keep the insulated box—I’ll collect it this afternoon.”

The e-commerce platform Ms. He frequently uses has deployed reusable insulated boxes for years. She said salmon, cod and lamb chops she often buys arrive in these boxes; after she removes the products, the courier takes the box away.

Such reusable insulated boxes are one attempt by postal and express delivery companies to make packaging greener. An industry insider noted that express packaging falls into six main categories: within primary packaging, envelopes account for 10%, cartons 55% and plastic bags 34%, plus fillers, tape and transfer bags used in internal handling—many types and large volumes. Reducing packaging use is a key part of green packaging efforts.

A warehouse manager at one postal and express enterprise said that during this year’s “Double 11,” a single warehouse used more than 50,000 reusable boxes per day, replacing more than 200,000 cartons and plastic materials used daily in the past. Another postal and express enterprise worked with an e-commerce platform to launch incentives for packaging recycling at 60,000 sites and pilot old-packaging reuse for shipments at 10,000 sites, encouraging recycling through multiple channels.

In recent years, to advance green, reduced and circular express packaging, the State Post Bureau has pushed for express packaging governance clauses in laws such as the E-Commerce Law and guided delivery companies to strengthen innovation in green packaging and other key areas. It also clarified production and operation requirements in the Interim Regulations on Express Delivery, the Measures for the Administration of the Express Delivery Market and the National Standards for Express Services, and issued the Reference for the Application of Recycling Bins for Mail and Express Packaging Waste to steadily promote recycling and reuse.

Through electronic waybills, packaging reduction and other steps, China’s express delivery industry has made progress: in 2020, replacing traditional paper express waybills with electronic ones was equivalent to saving 83.3 billion sheets of A4 paper; corrugated cartons were reduced from 5 paper layers to 3 or fewer; packaging bag thickness fell from 0.06 mm to 0.03 mm; and tape width was narrowed from 60 mm and above to 45 mm or less.

The State Post Bureau has also encouraged postal and express companies to install standards-compliant packaging waste recycling devices at outlets, reuse cartons and fillers that remain intact and meet quality standards after collection, and guide couriers to collect at doorsteps and delivery stations. This is part of exploring a “reverse logistics” model for mail and express packaging recycling. To date, the industry has put 3.8 million reusable express boxes (containers) into use, effectively cutting the consumption of cartons, bags and fillers.

Effective March 12, the Measures for the Administration of Mail and Express Packaging set packaging selection requirements and principles. Delivery companies must strictly follow packaging management rules, prioritize reusable and easily recyclable packaging, and reduce packaging use. They must wrap reasonably, avoid excessive tape, and minimize layers, void space and fillers. They are also encouraged to build sound mechanisms and recycling processes for packaging reuse.

Green express packaging still faces practical challenges

Although express packaging management keeps improving, green practices still encounter difficulties.

Mr. Liu in Beijing described sending luggage from Guangzhou to Beijing and feeling troubled as a courier wrapped tape around the box again and again. He said, “Don’t wrap so much—if it breaks, it’s on me,” but the courier replied that standards required it to ensure safety. Visiting several postal and express enterprises, the reporter found many couriers saying their top priority remains safe delivery, so sometimes they cannot give much thought to saving packaging materials.

Consumers may be aware of reuse and reduction but lack practical channels; postal and express companies testing solutions must also weigh delivery safety and higher costs.

Some couriers told the reporter they reduce materials case by case. They use “straight” or “cross” sealing patterns based on box size under relevant rules, use less tape when items are light and packaging is unlikely to leak, and use fewer or no fillers depending on the goods. During delivery, they also ask customers whether boxes can be recycled and keep some boxes that are basically in good condition.

Technological exploration for leaner, greener express packaging continues. An insider in express packaging design cited corrugated cartons: to improve appearance or water resistance, many cartons are covered with a plastic film during production, which makes recycling difficult. Agricultural products such as fruit lose moisture in transit or absorb dampness in cold storage; without film, cartons may collapse and fail to protect goods. Some institutions are exploring new processes to move beyond film lamination.

The same insider said biodegradable materials—whether for packaging or filling—cost several times more than ordinary materials, so they can only be used for higher-value products.

On reusable packaging, a person in charge at a postal and express enterprise explained that reusable express box costs mainly involve two parts. First, material cost: to ensure multiple cycles, plastic boxes cost 15–20 times as much as cartons of the same specification, with a service life of 30–40 uses. Second, circular operations are costly: in express scenarios, a recycling management system must be deployed early, and packaging collection, reallocation, cleaning and maintenance add costs. Overall, compared with cartons, reusable packaging currently offers no clear cost advantage.

According to a State Post Bureau official, green governance of express packaging faces three issues.

First, the legal, regulatory and standards system needs further improvement. Express packaging involves packaging manufacturers, packaging sellers, commodity producers, senders (e-commerce operators and ordinary users), postal and express enterprises, recipients, community property managers, scrap recyclers and waste treatment bodies. Current laws, regulations and standards mainly target postal and express enterprises, lacking effective constraints on other parties, which limits governance results.

Second, upstream-downstream coordination needs strengthening. Packages from upstream e-commerce operators account for more than 70% of express business volume. With postal and express enterprises guiding upstream users, 76% of e-commerce express items now avoid secondary packaging during delivery. Therefore, getting e-commerce and other upstream industries to adopt green packaging requirements is key.

Third, green supply is insufficient. Green products, technologies and models tailored to industry needs remain lacking; biodegradable packaging under natural conditions has high promotion costs; reusable packaging models need innovation; and replacement costs stay high. According to statistics, if the whole industry switched entirely to biodegradable plastic bags and eco-friendly tape to replace ordinary plastic bags and ordinary plastic tape, based on 2020 business volume, the industry would incur an additional 18.79 billion yuan in costs—about 2.1% of the business revenue of national express service enterprises.

Green express delivery is everyone’s responsibility

To encourage consumer participation in express packaging recycling, one postal and express enterprise and an e-commerce platform installed 13,000 new green recycling bins. During this year’s “Double 11,” they also prepared 500,000 fresh eggs daily for consumers who took part in express box recycling.

Notably, usage habits also shape the adoption of eco-friendly express packaging.

An industry insider said: “Express delivery is a complete system. At this stage, some recyclable and degradable packaging materials may be slightly weaker in physical properties such as compression resistance, so adapting the whole system to these materials is a major test.”

The Measures for the Administration of Mail and Express Packaging comprehensively define delivery companies’ obligations in packaging selection, sealing operations, and recycling and reuse. Yet in most cases, companies cannot fulfill these obligations without user cooperation. For example, users should not make unreasonable requests, such as excessive tape, when couriers package according to rules; if self-provided packaging fails to meet regulations and the courier asks for a replacement or replacement on the user’s behalf, users must not refuse or obstruct; and for reusable packaging put into use by delivery companies, recipients should return it to the courier after removing the contents.

A State Post Bureau official said that next, the bureau will fully implement laws including the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste and the E-Commerce Law, comprehensively advance green governance of express packaging, improve the legal, regulatory, standards and policy system, and continue promoting green, reduced and circular express packaging.

The State Post Bureau calls on users to actively participate in and cooperate with relevant work by postal management departments and delivery companies, jointly contributing to green express delivery and a beautiful China.

—Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378666.html