What should be packaged for express delivery?


Our reporter Zhu Junbi

  For many people, there is no shortage of such experiences: when you open the courier box, you can see layers of tape and bulky fillers, which are laborious to disassemble and more troublesome to throw away.

The resulting waste of resources and environmental pollution should not be underestimated.

  At present, the average daily business volume of my country's postal express industry exceeds 240 million pieces, and the average daily service users are close to 500 million person-times. The requirements for green, environmentally friendly and economical express packaging are becoming increasingly urgent.

The "Measures for the Administration of Mail Express Packages" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") officially implemented on March 12 targeted the "three major pollutions" of plastic bags, plastic tapes, and internal plastic buffers in express packaging. He was severely punished in accordance with the law.

  The reporter recently visited the market and found that after the introduction of the "Measures", some express companies and e-commerce platforms did significantly optimize express packaging and filling materials.

Whether the "Measures" can be further deepened and put in place requires the joint efforts of express delivery companies, e-commerce platforms and users.

  Promote packaging green product certification

  In the sales department of JD Logistics Beijing Beitucheng Central, the courier guys are sorting the parcels to be delivered.

The reporter saw that most of them use plastic packaging bags and plastic tape in the selection, packing, and filling of packaging.

  "We are piloting the use of biodegradable plastic packaging bags and plastic tapes on a large scale. This is one of JD Logistics' practices to promote green packaging." Duan Yanjian, head of JD Logistics’ Qingliu Program, told reporters that the cost of biodegradable materials is higher than that of ordinary poly Ethylene (PE) materials are more than three times higher, which undoubtedly increases the packaging costs of enterprises.

  Duan Yanjian introduced, “JD Logistics has formulated and introduced an internal random inspection mechanism for irregular packaging. The sorting center will incorporate the “black bags” and excessive packaging of heavy metals into the quality control system. Once the front-line operators find irregular packaging, they will conduct targeted inspections. The department in question will notify and guide it to standardize packaging operations."

  What kind of material should be used to package the mail express?

The "Measures" stipulates that shipping companies should give priority to reusable and easily recyclable packaging, optimize the packaging of express mail, and reduce the use of packaging. For the replacement of disposable plastic products, the content of heavy metals in the packaging and the control of benzene solvent residues Issues such as clarifying corporate responsibilities and strengthening source governance.” Guan Aiguang, deputy director of the Market Supervision Department of the State Post Bureau, emphasized when interpreting the “Measures” to encourage delivery companies to purchase and use green product certified packaging materials.

  The implementation of packaging green product certification and the use of a unified green label will help consumers identify, purchase and use by shipping companies, and supervise and manage on-site inspections.

At present, the State Post Bureau and the State Administration for Market Regulation have completed the establishment of a technical expert group for packaging green product certification.

  "Some certification bodies have obtained the certification of green product certification for express packaging. Express packaging manufacturers are also actively submitting applications for green product certification." Guan Aiguang said that the first batch of green certification certificates will be issued soon.

  "Promoting the certification of packaging green products will help strengthen the construction of the information system for recyclable packaging." Zhu Lei, president of the Qingdao Research Institute of Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, told reporters that two or three years ago, express companies used disposable plastics in their transit links. Bags, "Today, more than 80% of express companies in my country have replaced them with recyclable bulk bags that can be recycled at least 50 times. Even if such bulk bags can no longer be recycled, they can be handed over to manufacturers for remanufacturing and reuse. , Will not affect the environment."

  In the SF Express North China distribution area, the reporter saw a variety of express packaging that can be recycled.

According to the relevant person in charge, SF Express has developed four types of recycle express containers, including Feng BOX, container container, cage truck, and recycle file seal, and built a SF recycle operation platform for data management.

As of the end of 2020, SF Express has launched 8 cycle products, achieving a total of 93.5 million cycles.

In addition, SF Express pioneered inkless printing cartons (ie laser cartons) in the express delivery industry, using laser engraving technology to replace traditional ink printing, which can save 100% of the consumption of printing inks and achieve green environmental protection while having high economic value.

  Over-packaging

  In the early morning of April 8, the courier brother Jin Guohua of the R&F City Service Department of Yunda Express Beijing Chaoyang District started a day's delivery work. The first stop was to the Xinyu District of the capital city.

The reporter followed Jin Guohua to the door of the recipient, Ms. Zhang Zhongmei.

  "I particularly like this kind of'zipper-style' express packaging. The express box can be opened easily with bare hands, which is convenient and clean." Zhang Zhongmei showed the reporter the express delivery she received. There was no tape on the outer packaging, only one. With a small opening, grasp the opening and tear it to the right to open the entire express box.

  At present, "zipper-type" packaging has been selected by more and more brand merchants, and the domestic brand Huaxizi is one of them.

According to the relevant person in charge of Huaxizi, the "One Tear" express box chosen by the company is a patented product of a domestic express packaging company. The cost is indeed much more expensive than ordinary express boxes, but the environmentally friendly and convenient packaging design, coupled with fashionable elements The use of has improved the user experience and has been well received.

  How should the courier be packaged?

The "Measures" require shipping companies to reasonably carry out packaging operations in accordance with the principles of environmental protection and economy, not to wrap too much tape, and to minimize the number of packaging layers, voids and fillers.

Delivery companies reduce the amount of packaging materials through measures such as smaller width tapes, strengthening of structural design, popularizing the use of electronic waybills, and selecting suitable size packaging boxes.

  At a courier station in Suning Logistics in Beijing, the reporter saw that the tape here was only 42mm at the narrowest and 45mm at the widest, which was much slimmer than the traditional 55mm and 60mm tapes.

On-site staff packing try to avoid excessive packaging with tape.

The relevant person in charge of Yunda Express told reporters that they continued to promote the use of 45mm "slimming tape" throughout the network.

"In the next step, Yunda plans to promote RFID delivery recycle bags in more distribution centers to increase the use of recycle bags."

  Strengthen supervision to form a joint force

  At present, it is not difficult to produce packaging products that meet green standards. However, due to the relatively high cost of some green packaging raw materials, some companies are reluctant to actively use them, and their utilization rate needs to be further improved.

The promulgation of the "Measures" will change this situation.

  "The "Measures" clarify the legal responsibilities for illegal activities from seven aspects, including unified management of packaging, use of standard packaging, and avoidance of excessive packaging, to ensure that the "Measures" are truly implemented." Guan Aiguang said that the State Post Bureau will launch a special management of excessive packaging , Strive to use one year to effectively curb violations of laws and regulations such as excessive packaging, and initially establish a long-term working mechanism to prevent excessive packaging.

  The industry generally believes that the regulatory significance of the "Measures" is more reflected in the promotion of collaboration and mutual restriction between the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

  "Strengthening the management of mail express packaging requires the joint efforts of various parties to open up the industrial chain." Director of the Postal Law Professional Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association and lawyer Liu Xin from Beijing Leijie Zhanda Law Firm told reporters that the "Measures" have detailed requirements for packaging operations. In addition, there are also detailed supervision and management regulations, which overall highlight the green transformation and the concept of building consensus, discussing and co-governance, which is of great significance for accelerating the green transformation of express packaging.

  Experts said that the implementation of the "Measures" not only involves the express logistics industry, but also the parties to the delivery agreement, that is, packaging manufacturers, e-commerce companies, commercial organizations, etc., involving multiple parties of mail express including users.

  In terms of strengthening the guidance and management of users, the "Measures" proposes that for the packaging operations carried out by the courier in accordance with the specifications, the user should not put forward unreasonable requirements such as excessive winding tape; the self-provided packaging does not meet the regulations and the courier requires replacement Or the user shall not refuse or hinder the replacement; for the recyclable packaging put into use by the shipping company, the recipient shall return the recyclable packaging to the courier after taking out the inner parts.

In this regard, Guan Aiguang appealed, hoping that the majority of users can cooperate to ensure that relevant regulations take root in the industry.

  Our reporter Zhu Junbi