Green Express Packaging to Get "Hard Standards" as Hunan Explores "Green" Delivery

"This is your parcel waiting to be picked up. If you don't need the carton, you can put it in the recycling bin nearby, so that the next customer who needs to send a parcel can use it." On August 25, outside the Cainiao station at Building 7, Kaile International City, Changsha, shop owner Mr. Zhao, after taking the corresponding parcel from the shelf for a customer, habitually reminded residents to leave the outer packaging of their express deliveries behind.

A few days ago, the State Administration for Market Regulation and eight other departments jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Standardization of Green Express Packaging (hereinafter referred to as the Guiding Opinions), setting out arrangements for the standardization of green express packaging in China.

In Hunan, traditional handwritten four-part waybills have been replaced by two-part and one-part electronic waybills; in addition to trying recyclable express packaging boxes and eco-friendly recyclable sorting packaging bags, express companies have launched express box recycling programs and adopted packing methods such as the "one-line" seal for ordinary light items and the "cross" seal for medium and large items to reduce tape usage.

Green packaging standards system becomes a hard constraint

The Guiding Opinions propose that by 2022, a strict and binding standards system for green express packaging should be fully established, the green express packaging governance system in which standards are coordinated and matched with laws and policies should be gradually improved, and standards should be promoted to become a "hard constraint" for green express packaging, supporting significant results in reducing, greening and recycling express packaging.

Making express packaging "greener and slimmer" has become a common goal of the industry. In June this year, the State Post Bureau issued the Specification for Green Packaging of Mail and Express Items, stressing that green packaging of mail and express items adheres to the work goals of standardization, reduction and recyclability, and setting out a series of specific requirements for green packaging. For example: in principle, the void ratio of mail and express packaging shall not exceed 20%; delivery enterprises shall fully promote the use of electronic waybills, especially one-part electronic waybills; for packaging boxes sealed in the "one-line" manner, the length of tape used shall not exceed 1.5 times the maximum comprehensive internal dimension, and so on.

Collection points actively recycle express packaging

"To make things convenient for nearby residents, door-to-door pickup is provided free of charge for larger parcels. The company does not provide pickup materials, so the site has to source packaging materials itself for door-to-door pickup." Mr. Zhao, owner of the Cainiao station at Building 7, Kaile International City, Changsha, explained that a roll of ordinary simple packaging foam 50cm wide and 55 meters long costs 30 yuan, and a medium-sized three-layer ordinary carton costs 0.5 yuan. Considering the cost, they recover as many relatively intact cartons as possible from customers when they collect their parcels, and use as little tape as possible when packing.

At a Best Express station on Kaifu Temple Road in Kaifu District, there is likewise a convenient assembled recycling bin for express packaging waste placed by the Hunan Express Industry Association, in which packaging waste is deposited into two compartments for paper products and plastics as indicated. "Most of those that can be recycled a second time are medium and small thickened cartons. Disposable black plastic bags and the foam fillers inside boxes can rarely be reused; most are dumped into garbage stations together with household waste." A courier at the station explained that cold-chain consumables such as foam boxes and ice packs used for transporting fresh produce, as well as metallized film bubble envelope bags used for packaging clothing, are still single-use.

Hunan companies explore "green" express delivery

It is estimated that China's express delivery industry consumes more than 9 million tonnes of paper waste and about 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, and this figure is still growing rapidly. The reporter found during visits that the "greening" of the logistics industry has attracted widespread social attention, and e-commerce and express delivery companies have begun to adopt "green" measures in packaging, delivery and recycling.

For example, SF Express has rolled out the recyclable packaging box "FengBOX" in Changsha, using zippers instead of sealing tape while reducing the filling materials inside the box. After couriers deliver goods such as 3C products and luxury items into consumers' hands, the "FengBOX" is brought back to the warehouse and reused up to 50 times. "All SF packaging undergoes reduction treatment. For example, the weight of large document envelopes has been reduced from 300 grams to 230 grams, and the printing ink on the packaging has also been changed from black to gray," said Yang Qian of the Public Affairs Department of Hunan SF Express Co., Ltd., adding that the company also has an incentive mechanism for packaging box recycling, and employees who voluntarily recycle express packaging boxes receive corresponding rewards.

In addition, during the "Double 11" shopping festival in 2019, the Changsha company of STO Express added 100,000 new eco-friendly packaging bags for the sorting and transfer of more than 90% of intra-provincial express deliveries. "The eco-friendly bags are made of waterproof nylon fabric, can degrade within 3 months in a natural environment, and can be recycled more than 50 times." Liu Haiping, Changsha transfer manager of STO Express' Hunan company, explained that the cost of one cycle of use of an eco-friendly packaging bag is only 6 fen, which, compared with single-use plastic woven bags costing 1-2 yuan, greatly reduces parcel transfer costs.

In addition, JD Logistics' "Green Stream Initiative" announced a further upgrade, promoting the use of "Green Stream Boxes" in nearly 30 cities across the country and carrying out a long-term "Idle Carton Recycling Program" nationwide; the Cainiao Alliance promotes shipping goods in original factory packaging, and more than 70% of non-fragile goods on Tmall Supermarket are already shipped in original packaging...

"Green express delivery" still requires efforts from multiple parties

More notably, although e-commerce platforms and express delivery companies are actively promoting green express packaging, in daily life the coverage of "green express boxes", recyclable packaging and packaging recycling bins is still far from sufficient. Industry insiders believe that achieving green, reduced and recyclable express packaging still requires the support of standards.

One express delivery industry practitioner believes that express companies, express packaging manufacturers and e-commerce platforms are all actively carrying out innovative exploration of green packaging, but they are still at the stage of "each fighting its own battle"; moreover, "Tongda" express brands that expand their service scope by franchising are still engaged in price wars, and very few franchisees are willing to invest funds and effort in developing green express delivery systems.

"To achieve effective recycling of express packaging consumables, a socialized recycling mechanism needs to be established. Only centralized, large-scale recycling can improve efficiency and reduce costs." He believes that express companies should work together to connect offline self-pickup points, give play to the effect of couriers' last-mile delivery, and adopt incentive measures to realize a one-stop "delivery - pickup - recycling" circular mechanism, so as to increase the recycling turnover rate of express recycling bins, recyclable packaging and the like.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378538.html