With the coordinated promotion of multiple parties, the green process of the express delivery industry is also accelerating, from reducing packaging and recycling to optimizing the transportation system.

Payment of deposit, full reduction, final payment, and dismantling of express delivery... With the recent Double 11, online shopping has ushered in a new wave of enthusiasm.

According to the Guiding Opinions on Collaborative Promotion of Green Packaging in the Express Industry issued by 10 departments including the National Postal Administration and the National Development and Reform Commission, the first week of November each year is the "Green Express Promotion Week". In recent years, with the development of e-commerce, the greening and reduction of the express delivery industry have received increasing social attention. The regulatory authorities, postal and express delivery enterprises, consumers, and other parties are working together to make express delivery more green.

Collaborative efforts from multiple parties to promote the greening and reduction of express packaging

A few days ago, Ms. He from Chaoyang District, Beijing received a phone call from a delivery guy in her office, saying that the fruit she had bought had arrived. Ms. He asked the courier to leave the package at the door, and the young man repeatedly reminded, "Don't throw away the insulated box. I will come to collect it this afternoon."

Ms. He has been using reusable insulated boxes on this e-commerce platform for several years. "The salmon, cod, and lamb chops I often buy are all packaged in this insulated box. After each delivery, I take out the things and the courier will take away the box," Ms. He said.

This kind of reusable express insulation box is an attempt by postal and express enterprises to promote the green packaging of express delivery. According to industry insiders, there are mainly 6 types of express packaging, with 10% of the main packaging being envelopes, 55% being packaging boxes, 34% being plastic packaging bags, as well as filling materials, tape, and transfer bags for internal treatment. There are many types and large quantities of express packaging. Promoting the reduction of express packaging is an important aspect of promoting green packaging work.

According to a warehouse manager of a postal and express delivery company, during this year's "Double 11" period, the daily usage of single warehouse circulating boxes exceeded 50000, replacing the previous daily usage of over 200000 cardboard boxes and plastic packaging materials. Another postal and express delivery company, in collaboration with e-commerce platforms, has launched a 60000 site incentive packaging recycling project and a 10000 site pilot old packaging recycling project, encouraging and promoting express packaging recycling through various forms.

In recent years, in order to promote the greening, reduction, and recycling of express packaging, the National Postal Administration has promoted the addition of relevant provisions on express packaging governance in laws such as the E-commerce Law, guiding postal enterprises to strengthen technological innovation around key areas such as green packaging; In the Provisional Regulations on Express Delivery, the Measures for the Administration of Express Delivery Market, and the National Standards for Express Delivery Services, relevant requirements for express delivery production operations have been clarified, and the Reference for the Application of Waste Recycling Boxes for Mail and Express Packaging has been issued, steadily promoting the recycling and reuse of packaging waste.

Through the digitization of express waybills and the reduction of packaging, progress has been made in the exploration of greening and reducing the volume of China's express delivery industry. In 2020, replacing traditional paper express waybills with electronic waybills is equivalent to saving 83.3 billion A4 paper sheets; Reduce the number of layers of corrugated paper in the corrugated box from 5 to 3 or even less, reduce the thickness of the packaging bag from 0.06 millimeters to 0.03 millimeters, and reduce the width of the tape from 60 millimeters or more to 45 millimeters or less.

By promoting postal and express delivery enterprises to set up packaging waste recycling devices that meet standards in postal and express delivery outlets, and reusing packaging boxes, filling materials, etc. that have been recycled and have a good appearance and meet quality standards, as well as guiding postal and express delivery personnel to come to their doorstep and station for recycling, national postal bureaus are exploring the construction of a "reverse logistics" model for the recycling of postal and express packaging materials. As of now, 3.8 million recyclable express delivery boxes have been put into use throughout the industry, effectively reducing the usage of packaging boxes, bags, and fillers.

The "Management Measures for Mail and Express Packaging", which came into effect on March 12th, clarifies the requirements and principles for packaging selection, and stipulates that postal enterprises should strictly implement the packaging material management system, prioritize the use of reusable and easily recyclable packaging materials, and reduce the use of packaging materials. The Measures require postal enterprises to carry out reasonable packaging operations, not to wrap too much tape, and to minimize the number of packaging layers, porosity, and fillers as much as possible. In addition, encourage shipping companies to establish sound work mechanisms and recycling processes, and recycle and reuse packaging materials.

The current practice of green express packaging also faces difficulties

At present, the management of express packaging is constantly improving, but its green practice still faces some difficulties.

"I sent my luggage from Guangzhou to Beijing and saw the courier wrapping tape around the box in circles. It's really unbearable, it's just a waste!" Mr. Liu from Beijing said helplessly, "I said don't wrap it so much. If it breaks, it's mine. The courier said it's not possible, they have their own standards and must ensure safety." The reporter visited several postal and express delivery companies, and many of them said that their main job now is to safely deliver the package to customers, and sometimes they don't think too much about saving packaging materials.