Zhejiang Seeks Comments on Express Packaging Plan, Targeting End-2022 Ban on Non-Degradable Plastic Bags and Woven Sacks

The Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission has released a notice inviting public comments on the Work Plan for the Governance of Excessive and Arbitrary Packaging of Mail and Express Parcels in Zhejiang Province (2021-2022). The draft was jointly prepared by eight departments, including the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Provincial Postal Administration.

Guided by green, low-carbon and circular development principles, the plan follows a broad strategy of 'ban, restrict, reduce, recycle and lower.' It emphasizes targeted measures and closed-loop management, uses standards as a guide and enforcement as a safeguard, and calls for society-wide participation in tackling excessive and arbitrary packaging in mail and express deliveries.

The plan sets the following targets for the end of 2022:

across the province, non-degradable plastic packaging bags will be banned

along with single-use plastic woven bags; the share of non-degradable plastic tape will drop to 30%. Packaging consumables per express parcel will fall by more than 10% on average, and the rate of e-commerce express parcels that are not repackaged again will exceed 90%.

The province will procure and use more than 800,000 recyclable packaging boxes (bags) and reach a 100% utilization rate for recyclable transfer bags. In addition, eligible regions and branded express outlets are encouraged and supported to stop using non-degradable plastic packaging by the end of 2021.

The plan also outlines five priority tasks for the next phase.

First, improving laws, regulations and standards.

This includes advancing legislation for the Regulations on the Promotion of the Express Delivery Industry of Zhejiang Province (Draft), setting up a joint conference system for green express packaging standardization, comprehensively reviewing and assessing express packaging standards in the province, and building a green express packaging standards framework with Zhejiang characteristics.

Second, strengthening green governance of express packaging.

A reporting system will be introduced for e-commerce companies on the use and recycling of single-use plastic products. Express packaging products will be pushed toward standardization, serialization and modularization, while e-commerce firms are encouraged to cut packaging volumes through direct sourcing at origin, original-packaging shipments and consolidated single-order dispatch.

Third, strengthening standardized management of e-commerce express deliveries.

A governance framework and management ledger for express packaging will be established. E-commerce platforms are encouraged to use point rewards, credit scoring and similar mechanisms to steer consumers toward green products and green or reduced packaging. Green product certification for express packaging will be carried out, certification bodies will be developed, and certification results will be more widely recognized.

Fourth, expanding the use of recyclable express packaging.

The province will openly solicit and select new technologies and products for reducing and recycling express packaging, compile its first recommended list of manufacturers of degradable and recyclable plastic products, explore coding rules for green express packaging products, and promote the development of shared express terminals and recyclable express packaging recovery facilities.

Fifth, improving supporting and safeguarding systems.

Supervision and enforcement for express packaging governance will be intensified, ecological and environmental oversight items in the postal and express sector will be added to the random inspection list, and greater support will be provided for projects such as green express logistics and distribution systems and specialized, intelligent recycling facilities across the province.

The Zhejiang Bureau said that next it will rely on the province-wide special working mechanism for plastic pollution control to further strengthen interdepartmental coordination and policy alignment, create a joint force for unified management, promptly summarize and promote effective management measures, business models and institutional outcomes in the green transformation of express packaging, and coordinate solutions to implementation challenges.

At the same time, typical practices and achievements in the green transformation of express packaging will be publicized to encourage green consumption. Full play will be given to oversight by consumers, media and industry associations, and the postal consumer complaint hotline will be guided to keep open channels for the public to report excessive express packaging, helping create a supportive social environment.

—This article is republished from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378203.html