Green Express Packaging Still Has a Long Way to Go: More Than 9 Million Tonnes of Waste Paper and 1.8 Million Tonnes of Plastic Waste a Year

Under the dual carbon strategy, excessive express packaging remains a common sight in China. Industry data indicates the country’s express delivery sector produces more than 9 million tonnes of waste paper and 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, increasing pressure on environmental protection. Although excessive packaging is a familiar topic, it points to long-standing industry problems. Making circular packaging a practical reality and carrying green development through remains a major challenge for express delivery players.

When will excessive packaging finally “travel light”?

Mr. Zhang, who lives in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, recently had a mix of joy and frustration. Relatives from his hometown sent him a large amount of fresh food. Looking at the carton wrapped in layer after layer, he told reporters that receiving a parcel from home was pleasant, but unpacking it was troublesome: a large carton, a thick plastic film secured with tape, and inside it a foam plastic box also tightly taped. The parcel was sturdy, he said, but also wasteful.

Experiences like Mr. Zhang’s are common in parcel shipping. Protection is the first job of express packaging: it must keep goods from being damaged by handling and compression during long-distance transport. Packaging also helps preserve product appearance and build buyer confidence. A survey shows China’s express delivery industry generates more than 9 million tonnes of waste paper and 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, creating a major environmental challenge.

Targeted policies keep packaging governance moving forward

China began issuing policies as early as 2009 to run special governance on express packaging, followed by a series of regulations. In September 2020, the country set clear goals for “carbon peaking” in 2030 and “carbon neutrality” in 2060, promoting a green, environmentally friendly and low-carbon lifestyle, accelerating carbon reduction, and pursuing economic development alongside green transition.

This year, the State Post Bureau is stepping up efforts. At a special press conference on 22 February, it announced the “9218” green development project to speed up the green, low-carbon transformation of express packaging. By the end of the year, the share of e-commerce express parcels that are not repackaged should reach 90%; two governance campaigns targeting excessive packaging and plastic pollution should be deepened; mail items using recyclable express packaging should hit 1 billion; and 800 million corrugated cartons in good condition should be recovered and reused. After the policy was released, postal authorities in Guangdong, Shanxi, Heilongjiang and other provinces and cities responded with rules on express packaging, such as limiting the width of packing tape and reducing the use of non-degradable plastic packaging bags.

Rapid e-commerce growth has pushed China’s express delivery volume sharply higher. It rose 120-fold from 1 billion items in 2006 to 120 billion in 2022. State Post Bureau data show that from January to April this year, postal delivery business volume reached 46.80 billion items, up 13.7% year on year, with express delivery volume at 37.1 billion items, up 17.0%. This huge volume supports economic growth, but it also creates serious environmental pollution and wastes recoverable resources. The non-recyclable tape used each year could circle the equator 425 times.

Recycling 1 tonne of waste paper can yield about 0.85 tonnes of new paper, save 17 large trees, free up 3 cubic metres of landfill space, cut soda ash use by 240 kg, reduce pollution emissions from papermaking by 75% and lower papermaking energy consumption by 40%–50%. Each sheet of paper can be recycled at least twice. Yet China’s waste paper recovery rate is only 20%–30%, and 6 million tonnes of waste paper is lost each year—equivalent to wasting 1–3 million mu of forest resources.

Corporate action shows responsibility

Moving from extensive practices to an intensive circular economy is a key issue for the express packaging industry, and express delivery companies must play an important role. When firms collect used packaging boxes, some can be reused directly, while others can be processed centrally to save costs.

JD Logistics launched its carton recycling initiative in 2016, covering JD express stations nationwide. Its circular packaging operation uses an integrated forward-and-reverse logistics system: after customers sign for parcels in person, couriers bring the packaging back to outlets, and reverse-route vehicles return it to warehouses for reuse. To implement the “9218” project, JD Logistics is promoting factory-direct packaging and platform incentives that guide upstream brands toward green packaging at the source, with factory and express packaging designed as an integrated structure. Big data and algorithms are used to optimise packaging selection and modification and to recommend consumables intelligently, improving space utilisation and avoiding excessive packaging.

JD Logistics is also developing new packaging materials to replace conventional single-use plastics, including paper-based alternatives and reusable express packaging bags; running consumer-facing circular packaging sharing pilots; and encouraging couriers to collect cartons for reuse. Duan Yanjian, head of JD Logistics’ Green Stream Project, told Modern Logistics News in an interview that JD Logistics will promote standardised reusable boxes and a shared recycling model, build end-point recycling infrastructure to address empty-box collection, and use a third-party circular packaging service platform to collect items and allocate resources centrally for faster turnover.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, China Post Group Co., Ltd. (China Post) launched a comprehensive green initiative with three major projects—green packaging, green transport and green finance—plus six demonstration actions including green e-commerce and green buildings, continuously improving its green development system. This year, China Post issued the “14th Five-Year Development Plan for Green Postal Services”, calling for advancing the industry’s “9218” key project, deepening the two special governance efforts on excessive packaging and plastic pollution, reaching 100 million mail items using recyclable packaging nationwide and recycling and reusing 80 million corrugated cartons nationwide.

This year, the Shijiazhuang Branch of China Post Group Co., Ltd. (Shijiazhuang Post) has handled an average of 580,000 express items per day, up 9.3% year on year. Green express packaging has not only delivered environmental benefits but also supported reduction and recyclability, improving both the volume and quality of the postal enterprise’s performance.

Discussing Shijiazhuang’s work on circular express packaging, the head of Shijiazhuang Post told Modern Logistics News that in 2022 the branch recovered and reused 1.0624 million corrugated cartons. All 298 postal outlets (including agency points) and 36 collection and delivery stations in the city are equipped with express packaging waste recycling devices, while posters and advertising videos at outlets strengthen public communication. The branch also encouraged 3,000 social stations to join carton recycling awareness activities.

He added that Shijiazhuang Post will further advance green transformation in express packaging and transport, and promote green finance and low-carbon development. By the end of 2023, the share of degradable plastic packaging bags and plastic tape used citywide should exceed 75%, and by the end of 2024 the city aims to fully achieve its plastic ban goal.

Green packaging is a long-term undertaking with a long road ahead

For companies collecting express cartons, the practical challenge is reverse logistics. Express packaging recyclables are large in volume and scattered, making recovery difficult; outlet-based collection is comparatively easier. Customers often open and discard packaging right after pickup, and with staff encouragement their willingness to join carton recycling is relatively high. However, collecting cartons after courier delivery and at community stations remains harder. For privacy or economic reasons, customers and station operators are often unwilling to hand express cartons directly to express companies for recycling.

Material selection is another critical part of making express packaging greener. Today, cartons and foam plastics are widely used as cushioning materials because they are inexpensive and resistant. As outer packaging, cartons can encourage greater recycling participation by improving manufacturing processes, though this raises costs. Compared with high-value goods such as ceramics, glass and electronic devices, cushioning materials like foam plastics are very cheap to use. To reduce damage, merchants often double up on cushioning material, increasing packaging safety.

Lu Fude, associate professor at the School of Packaging and Materials Engineering, Hunan University of Technology, said that green packaging materials remain a long and difficult goal. On one hand, the packaging industry needs wider standardisation, with reasonable packaging approaches for products of different specifications and price points; merchants should also take responsibility for product strength and support reduction-oriented express packaging design. On the other hand, research remains vital: mechanics, materials science and other disciplines must be considered systematically to balance packaging safety with environmental performance.

Lu also discussed degradable materials. He noted that whether existing degradable materials are truly pollution-free is still open to debate, as their decomposition can still harm the environment and takes time. Finding a material that emits no pollution from production through decomposition will require sustained research efforts.

—This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-379425.html