Survey on Packaging Recycling in the Postal and Express Delivery Industry: What Packaging Materials Do Express Companies Prefer Today

On June 21, the State Post Bureau released the latest statistics: during this year's "618" event (June 1–20), the national postal and express delivery industry collected more than 6.59 billion parcels, up 24.24% year on year. Some data show that as of June 1 this year China's express delivery business volume had exceeded 40 billion parcels.

As packaging becomes "greener," how can the difficulty of express packaging recycling be solved? Will express companies' packaging costs increase substantially? And how should consumers cooperate? An Economic Daily reporter takes you to find out.

Recyclable express boxes

become the preferred packaging material of major express companies

"Please inform the recipient in advance that this is a recyclable express box, and please help the outlet recycle it when picking up." At the Yuantong Express outlet in Xibahe, Chaoyang District, Beijing, the courier reminded Ms. Qian, who was sending a parcel, while packing.

Today, this kind of recyclable packaging box in various specifications has become the preferred packaging material for major express companies in promoting green packaging. Its biggest feature is that the packing process requires no glue, iron nails, tape or similar materials, and a specially made buckle seal allows the box to be folded flat into cardboard when recycled, which is very convenient.

"Compared with ordinary boxes, this kind of box costs more per unit, but it can be used repeatedly many times, preventing waste and pollution," Li Changxiang, head of outlet services at the Network Management Department of Yuantong's Hainan region, told reporters. This new type of box was already promoted for use in Hainan in early 2019. Not only that, during transfer, Yuantong outlets in Hainan also use circular transfer bags instead of woven bags, the sealing tape is getting "thinner," and green recycling devices for collecting express packaging have been installed. Among them, the Haidian Island outlet in Haikou is a green outlet specially opened by Yuantong, hoping to use one point to drive a wider area and advance the implementation of express packaging circular utilization.

This shows that using eco-friendly packaging materials has become an inevitable trend in the express industry. "Over the past year, we have continuously reduced express packaging waste and advanced packaging reduction and circular development," Zhang Jindong, Chairman of Suning Holdings Group, said recently. At present, Suning Logistics' nationwide electronic waybills have basically achieved full coverage, and shared express boxes have been put into use more than 100 million times cumulatively. Fresh-product circular boxes have achieved regular application in 45 cities, saving more than 50,000 foam boxes every day.

The "Specification for the Use and Evaluation of Green Express Packaging (Draft for Comments)" issued by the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau proposes that Beijing will promote the use of circular boxes and other reusable express packaging in intra-city express delivery, with the usage proportion no lower than 10% of intra-city express business volume by 2025; and it specifically sets clear requirements on express packaging dimensions, requiring the empty-box rate of express packaging not to exceed 20%.

Using eco-friendly packaging materials is an effective way to achieve green packaging, but compared with ordinary packaging materials, its price is obviously higher. The reporter learned that the cost of tape-free express cartons is two to three times higher than ordinary express cartons, or even more; and the market price of degradable plastic packaging products is usually about 1.5 times that of ordinary plastic packaging products.

Although greener packaging pushes up costs, the reporter learned from some enterprises and consumers that at present most express companies' delivery fees have not fluctuated. Staff at some express company outlets also said that when customers send parcels they can choose express packaging bags or recyclable boxes, with corresponding price discounts.

"Some customers, when sending parcels, tell us to stuff more filler into the outer box to prevent the goods from being damaged." Jin Guohua, a courier at the R&F City service department of Yunda Express in Chaoyang District, Beijing, told reporters that when packing he does not overuse packaging materials per company rules, but once the user takes out the goods, the box and other packaging materials basically cannot be reused and can only be thrown away.

At present, most express packaging is thrown away by users as recyclable waste. SF Express courier Xiao Zhao found that "high-value" packaging such as cartons more easily enters the recycling stream, but hard-to-handle "low-value" packaging such as foam and film faces the dilemma of no one collecting it.

In the future, can express packaging be recycled by express companies?

The "Specification for the Use and Evaluation of Green Express Packaging (Draft for Comments)" proposes that delivery enterprises should take measures to recycle and dispose of express packaging. Among other things, delivery enterprises should sort and store scrapped recyclable packaging by type — paper, plastic, textiles, metal and others — and, according to the different types, sign disposal agreements with qualified recycling institutions.

In addition, delivery enterprises should inform end consumers of the recycling channels for express packaging through official websites, WeChat public accounts, outlets or printing on packaging, and should configure packaging waste recycling devices according to actual needs and recycling results; they should also guide consumers to return packaging to recycling points through incentive mechanisms such as shipping discounts, points feedback and green credit.

In response, some express companies said that because the express packaging recycling system is not yet sound, it is quite difficult to advance the establishment of a recycling system relying solely on enterprise efforts. First, recycled express packaging boxes come in many types and varying specifications, and sorting them for recycling consumes a great deal of manpower and material resources, affecting the efficiency of express packaging recycling. Second, at present relatively few boxes are collected centrally at express enterprises' storage points, and because consumers damage the packaging badly when opening parcels, it is relatively difficult to reuse them at express points.

Zhang Jindong suggested that efforts should be coordinated at both the level of laws and regulations and the level of the public disposal system to safeguard the building of green logistics and maximize economic and social benefits. On the one hand, laws and regulations should be used to forcibly advance the building of a green logistics system, thereby jointly building a circular system and reducing the operating costs of green logistics; on the other hand, experience should be drawn from the building of the waste sorting and recycling disposal system to advance the formation of a public packaging waste recycling and disposal system, achieving the goal of reducing enterprises' packaging costs and accelerating the pace of green logistics building.

Wan Yuyang, Deputy General Manager of Network Management of Yuantong's Hainan region, admitted candidly that in the practical work of advancing green packaging there are still some difficulties. For example, it is relatively difficult to purchase green packaging such as fully biodegradable materials; and insufficient understanding and support from end users for the relevant work leads to difficulties in recycling recyclable boxes. "Next, we hope to solve the problem of difficulty in recycling recyclable packaging through technology, for example by installing chips inside the boxes to enable traceability and recycling," Wan Yuyang said.

If express packaging had a smart "brain," so that every stage from application to circulation to loss could be managed by people, it would surely greatly help in promoting green packaging. Today, this technology is no longer "armchair strategizing." According to Tian Minya, Vice President of Deppon Express Group, Deppon Express established a packaging R&D department as early as 2018, combining modern technologies such as big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence to carry out technical R&D on packaging reduction and recyclable products, using the power of science and technology to dress express delivery in "green" clothing.

A circular transfer bag, a circular express box — by implanting chips and building a tracking system, effective sharing of circular packaging can be achieved, giving full play to the value of each express packaging item. With this system, Deppon Express can manage the application, circulation, allocation, repair and loss of transfer bags and express boxes, thereby turning single-use consumables into assets for circular reuse.

Industry insiders believe that popularizing recyclable products or using technological means to reduce repeated packaging and improve the efficiency of packaging material use will become the main ways for express companies to cope with rising packaging material costs.

"Using technological means, we reduced the thickness of ordinary packaging bags from 7 microns to 5 microns; as of the end of 2020, nearly 200,000 had been put into use cumulatively, directly reducing plastic consumption by 1,324 tons," Tian Minya said. While striving to promote green packaging and adopting measures such as packaging reduction, circular reuse and degradable materials, the company continuously injects technological power to improve resource utilization.

In addition, Deppon Express invests 1.5% to 2% of total operating revenue each year in technology R&D, accelerating the improvement of its smart logistics system, achieving energy saving and emission reduction in corporate operations, and empowering the green development of express delivery.

High technology empowering the postal and express industry is reflected not only in express companies; upstream suppliers also need technological innovation. Mao Ruilong, head of Qinghai Hengnaite Packaging Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters that as green express packaging continues to advance, paper packaging is widely recognized by the public, having not only use value but also recycling and regeneration value. "As a paper box manufacturer, we actively develop new products in both outer packaging and transport packaging, such as micro fine-corrugated cartons and honeycomb paperboard, to manufacture reusable and easily recyclable packaging as far as possible and help the green development of the express industry," Mao Ruilong said.

A product has one layer of packaging when it leaves the factory, and the seller may add another layer when shipping to the buyer; each entity usually only focuses on its own needs and ignores the impact of express packaging on the environment. "Express packaging looks simple, but in fact it involves multiple market entities and requires coordination from every end of the industry chain," Wen Xiangcai, Researcher and Deputy Chief Engineer at the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, told reporters.

Sellers focus on how to reduce costs, users want things delivered safely, and couriers care about delivering as much as possible in one trip... "We hope to find a balance among different entities and different demands, one that benefits society-wide conservation and is also operable," Wen Xiangcai said. "To truly achieve the green development of express packaging, multiple means — policy, technology and social management — need to work together."

To this end, relevant experts suggest that green policies and regulations combining mandatory and incentive elements should be issued, mandatory standards for packaging material quality and use specifications should be formulated, an express circular fund system should be established, and public green awareness should be raised through multiple supervision channels.

"In terms of policy, issuing an industry standard is not easy, but only by formulating the relevant standard system for express packaging materials and their use as soon as possible can a good market environment be established, letting merchants find their direction in market competition," Wen Xiangcai believes. Many express companies want to follow a green development path but lack funding support; "affected by the pandemic, online shopping is increasing, and the express packaging industry is developing faster and faster. It is suggested that an express circular fund system be established to provide support for the R&D and promotion of green packaging technology."

At present, several express companies have launched measures such as recyclable express boxes and shared circular boxes, with preliminary results, but their effect on governing express waste remains minimal. Experts believe the reason is that the express waste problem cannot be viewed only in terms of express logistics companies; it should combine packaging manufacturers, e-commerce platforms and merchants in a "trinity" of coordinated efforts to truly achieve the optimization, upgrading, reduction and recycling of express packaging.

For example, express packaging suppliers should give play to their creativity and produce recyclable and more eco-friendly packaging materials; and e-commerce platforms and merchants, who account for the largest share of express business volume, should avoid secondary packaging as far as possible on the premise of ensuring product safety.

Duan Huabo, a circular economy expert at the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, also believes that

the environmental protection of express packaging cannot focus only on express companies; e-commerce must also join the "green ranks."

"It is understood that more than 80% of express parcels come from e-commerce, and the packaging materials for such mail are generally provided by the e-commerce companies themselves, with express enterprises only providing delivery services. However, there is currently a lack of green packaging requirements for goods sold by e-commerce, which also limits the promotion and use of green packaging."

——This article is reproduced from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-377644.html