Recyclable Boxes Become Express Packaging Favorite as China’s 618 Volume Jumps 24.24%

On June 21, the State Post Bureau released fresh figures: between June 1 and June 20, during the 618 shopping period, postal and express operators across China handled more than 6.59 billion parcels, up 24.24% year on year. Separate data showed that by June 1, the country's express delivery volume this year had passed 40 billion parcels.

With greener packaging gaining ground, what is blocking express packaging recycling? Will carriers face sharply higher packaging costs? How can consumers help? An Economic Daily reporter looked into these questions.

Recyclable express boxes

emerge as the packaging of choice for major couriers

At Yuantong's Xibahe outlet in Beijing's Chaoyang District, a courier packing a shipment for Ms. Qian asked her to tell the recipient in advance that the container was a recyclable express box and to help the outlet recover it at pickup.

These recyclable boxes, available in different sizes, are now a leading green packaging option for major express companies. They need no glue, nails or tape during packing, and a custom buckle closure lets the box fold flat into cardboard for recovery.

Li Changxiang, who oversees outlet services at the Network Management Department of Yuantong's Hainan region, said the box costs more per unit than an ordinary carton but can be reused many times, cutting waste and pollution. The new box was introduced in Hainan as early as 2019. Yuantong outlets in Hainan also replaced woven bags with circular transfer bags, narrowed sealing tape, and installed green recovery devices for express packaging. The Haidian Island outlet in Haikou is a dedicated green outlet meant to demonstrate and scale up circular use of express packaging.

The shift to eco-friendly materials is clearly inevitable for the express industry. Zhang Jindong, chairman of Suning Holdings Group, said the company has spent the past year reducing packaging waste and advancing reduction and circular development. Suning Logistics now has near-full coverage of electronic waybills nationwide; shared express boxes have been deployed more than 100 million times; and fresh-product circular boxes are used regularly in 45 cities, saving over 50,000 foam boxes daily.

A draft issued by the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, the Specification for the Use and Evaluation of Green Express Packaging (Draft for Comments), proposes that Beijing promote circular boxes and other reusable express packaging for same-city deliveries, with their use reaching at least 10% of same-city express volume by 2025. It also sets express packaging size rules, requiring an empty-box rate no higher than 20%.

Eco-friendly materials are an effective route to green packaging, but they cost more than conventional options. Reporters learned that tape-free express cartons cost two to three times as much as ordinary cartons, or even more, while degradable plastic packaging typically sells for about 1.5 times the price of ordinary plastic packaging.

Although greener packaging raises costs, feedback from some companies and consumers indicates that most express delivery charges have not fluctuated. Staff at some courier outlets also said customers can choose between a packaging bag and a recyclable box, with discounts available.

Jin Guohua, a courier at Yunda Express's Fuli City service department in Beijing's Chaoyang District, said some customers ask for extra filler in the outer box to prevent damage. He follows company rules and avoids excessive packaging, but once the recipient removes the goods, the box and other materials usually cannot be reused and are thrown away.

At present, most express packaging is discarded by users as recyclable waste. SF courier Xiao Zhao found that high-value packaging such as cartons enters recycling fairly easily, while low-value items such as foam and film are hard to process and often have no recycler.

Can express companies take responsibility for recovering packaging in the future?

The Beijing draft says delivery companies should recycle and dispose of express packaging. Scrapped recyclable packaging should be sorted and stored by material type—paper, plastic, textiles, metal and other—and companies should sign disposal agreements with qualified recyclers according to category.

Delivery companies should also tell end consumers about recycling channels through official websites, WeChat public accounts, outlets or packaging printing; install packaging waste recovery devices based on actual demand and results; and use incentives such as shipping discounts, point rewards and green credit to encourage consumers to return packaging to collection points.

Some express companies say the recycling system is incomplete and that building it alone is difficult. Recovered boxes come in many types and sizes, so sorting consumes substantial labor and resources and slows recycling. In addition, relatively few boxes reach company storage points, and packaging is often badly damaged when consumers open it, making reuse at express outlets hard.

Zhang Jindong suggested linking laws and regulations with the public treatment system to support green logistics and maximize economic and social benefits. On one hand, laws and regulations should force the development of a green logistics system, build a shared circular system and lower green logistics operating costs. On the other, lessons from waste sorting and recycling should be used to create a public system for recovering and treating packaging waste, reducing corporate packaging costs and accelerating green logistics.

Wan Yuyang, deputy general manager of Yuantong's Hainan network management, acknowledged practical difficulties in green packaging. Buying fully biodegradable packaging is difficult, and end users often lack understanding and support, making recyclable box recovery challenging. He hopes technology can solve the problem, for example by placing chips inside boxes to enable tracing and recovery.

If express packaging had a smart brain, with application, circulation and loss all manageable, green packaging would be easier to promote. That technology is no longer just theoretical. Tian Minya, vice president of Deppon Express Group, said Deppon set up a packaging R&D department in 2018 and, using big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, works on packaging reduction and recyclable products, giving express delivery a green makeover through technology.

A circular transfer bag or recyclable express box, once equipped with a chip and tracking system, can be effectively shared so that each packaging item delivers full value. With this system, Deppon can manage application, circulation, allocation, repair and loss of transfer bags and express boxes, turning disposable consumables into recyclable assets.

Industry observers believe that promoting recyclable products, or using technology to cut duplicate packaging and improve material efficiency, will become key ways for express companies to handle rising packaging material costs.

Tian Minya said Deppon used technology to reduce the thickness of standard packaging bags from 7 microns to 5 microns. By the end of 2020, nearly 200,000 such bags had been put into use, directly reducing plastic consumption by 1,324 tons. While promoting green packaging through reduction, recycling and degradable materials, the company keeps injecting technology to raise resource efficiency.

Deppon also invests 1.5% to 2% of total annual revenue in technology R&D each year, speeding up its smart logistics system, reducing energy use and emissions in operations, and empowering green express development.

High-tech support for the postal and express sector is not limited to couriers; upstream suppliers also need innovation. Mao Ruilong, head of Qinghai Hengnaite Packaging Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters that as green express packaging advances, paper packaging is widely recognized for both use value and recyclability. As a carton manufacturer, the company develops new products for outer and transport packaging, such as micro fine corrugated boxes and honeycomb paperboard, to make reusable and easily recyclable packaging and support green express growth.

A product gets packaging when it leaves the factory, and sellers may add more when shipping to buyers. Each party often focuses only on its own needs and overlooks the environmental impact of express packaging. Wen Xiangcai, a researcher and deputy chief engineer at the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, said express packaging looks simple but involves many market players and requires coordination across the supply chain.

Sellers focus on cost reduction, users want goods delivered safely, and couriers want to deliver as many parcels as possible per trip. Wen said the goal is to balance different parties and demands in a way that benefits society and remains practical. Truly green express packaging requires a mix of policy, technology and social management tools.

To that end, experts suggest introducing green policies and regulations that combine mandatory and incentive-based measures, and setting mandatory standards for packaging material quality and use... (Source excerpt due to length.)