How much resources can green recycling packaging save
——Taking "Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai Free Shipping Area" as an example to calculate the "Environmental Protection and Saving Account"
Author: Du Huanzheng Song Guanghan Fan Yanan
The Yangtze River Delta region, especially the "Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Free Shipping Area", has a good economic foundation and a large market space, and the scale of express delivery business is also very considerable, accounting for a large proportion of the total national total.
In addition to local consumption, a large number of express delivery is sent from here to the whole country every day, which is a typical commodity distribution center in my country.
In 2018, the total amount of express delivery in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai reached 22.136 billion pieces, which is about 30% of the national total.
In the "Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Free Shipping Area", how much express packaging materials will be consumed in a year?
The author uses dynamic "material flow analysis" as the research method to construct a recycling packaging resource saving potential evaluation system. By estimating the "source, flow, and volume" of express packaging materials, the overall consumption of plastic recycling packaging resources in the region is carried out. Calculated.
The results show that the total consumption of plastic packaging in the “Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Free Shipping Area” in 2018 reached 267,400 tons, of which disposable plastic bags were the most consumed, reaching 233,900 tons, followed by 23,900 tons of disposable woven bags. 4,836.23 tons of pearl bags, 4,818.62 tons of foam boxes.
According to geographical analysis, Jinhua City, where Yiwu is located, has the highest consumption, with 71,500 tons; Shanghai is the second with 37,900 tons; Hangzhou is the third with 32,100 tons.
Suzhou City and Wenzhou City ranked fourth and fifth respectively, with consumption of 20,900 tons and 13,100 tons respectively.
What is the potential for saving with green packaging?
We assume that on the consumer side, we use recycled woven bags to replace disposable woven bags, recycled plastic bags to replace disposable plastic bags and pearlescent bags, and cold chain recycling boxes to replace foam plastic boxes.
Assume that the cold chain circulating box circulates 120 times/unit on average, and the circulating plastic bag/woven bag circulates 40 times/unit on average.
The alternative scenarios are divided into four types: 25% of express delivery uses recycle packaging; 50% uses recycle packaging; 75% uses recycle packaging; and all uses recycle packaging.
"Same city model" saving potential
Observing the intra-city express delivery business scale of the "Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Free Shipping Area" in 2018, Zhejiang has the largest business volume with 1.713 billion pieces, followed by Shanghai with 969 million pieces, and Jiangsu Province the least with 669 million pieces.
Without changing any packaging materials, the intra-city express delivery business in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai will consume 49,200 tons of packaging materials, including 38,600 tons of disposable plastic bags, 3,900 tons of disposable woven bags, 0.59 tons of pearl bags, and 0.07 tons of foam boxes.
Under the scenario of a replacement rate of 25%, a total of 11,700 tons of traditional plastic bags, traditional woven bags, traditional pearl bags and disposable foam boxes can be saved throughout the year.
When the replacement rate is 50%, the above-mentioned four types of packaging materials can save 23,500 tons.
When the replacement rate is 75%, the savings will be 35,200 tons.
If the replacement rate reaches 100%, the total savings can reach 46,900 tons, which is the largest value for the saving potential of packaging resources in the same city in the "Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Free Shipping Area". Tons) is 9 million tons higher.
"Same province model" saving potential
Without changing any packaging materials, the express delivery business in the same province (including the same city) in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai will consume 62,100 tons of packaging materials; with a replacement rate of 25%, traditional plastic bags, traditional woven bags, and traditional pearlescent bags can be saved throughout the year. A total of 14,800 tons of bags and disposable foam boxes.
When the replacement rate is 50%, the saving of the above-mentioned four types of packaging is 29,600 tons.
When the replacement rate is 75%, the savings are 43,700 tons.
If the replacement rate reaches 100%, the savings of the above four types of packaging can reach 59,300 tons.
This value is 6,300 tons higher than the sum of plastic consumption of one-time express packaging in Hangzhou and Suzhou in 2018 (53 million tons).
The comparison found that the data volume gap between the same city and the same province is not obvious.
"Same area model" saving potential
The “Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Free Shipping Area” express package replacement scenario includes three levels of circulation between the same city, the same province, and the entire region.
Without changing any packaging materials, the internal express delivery business in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai will consume 108,400 tons of packaging materials.
With a replacement rate of 25%, a total of 25,900 tons of traditional plastic bags, traditional woven bags, traditional pearl bags and disposable foam boxes can be saved throughout the year.
When the replacement rate is 50%, the saving of the above-mentioned four types of packaging is 51,700 tons.
When the replacement rate is 75%, the savings will be 76,900 tons.
If the replacement rate reaches 100%, the savings of the above four types of packaging can reach up to 103,500 tons.
This value is close to the total consumption of express plastic packaging waste in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Wenzhou in 2019 (104,000 tons).
Through analysis, it can be seen that if all the express packaging in the "Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai Area" can use recycled woven bags instead of disposable woven bags, recycled plastic bags instead of disposable plastic bags and pearlescent bags, and cold chain recycling boxes instead of foam plastic boxes, then Replace 85,000 tons of traditional plastic bags, 8,700 tons of traditional woven bags, 13,100 tons of traditional pearl bags and 1,600 tons of disposable foam boxes. The total amount of plastic reduction is 103,500 tons, which is about the "Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Free Shipping Area" in 2018. 40% of express plastic packaging consumption.
This is enough to prove: the resource saving potential of the full application of circular express packaging is very huge.
(Author: Du Huanzheng, member of the Expert Advisory Committee of the National Joint Conference on the Development of Circular Economy, researcher of Shanghai Xi Jinping Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, Director of the Institute of Circular Economy of Tongji University; Song Guanghan and Fan Yanan are both Marx of Tongji University PhD student in the School of Socialism)