Online shopping has ushered in a new round of craze, and express packaging has been reduced and recyclable.

  Package minus a little green plus one point

  Core reading

  During this year's "Double 11" period, as the consumer market ushered in a new round of upsurge, the greening and reduction of the express delivery industry has also attracted more and more attention.

  From the reduction of packaging and recycling to the optimization of the transportation system, the green process of the express delivery industry is also accelerating with the concerted advancement of multiple parties.

  Pay the deposit, calculate the full reduction, pay the balance, open the courier... In the just past "Double 11", online shopping ushered in a new round of craze.

  According to the "Guiding Opinions on Coordinating the Promotion of Green Packaging in the Express Delivery Industry" issued by 10 departments including the State Post Bureau 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 has attracted more and more attention from the society.

Competent departments, postal express companies, consumers and other parties are working together to make express delivery greener.

 Multi-party collaboration to promote the greening and reduction of express packaging

  A few days ago, Ms. He from Chaoyang District, Beijing received a call from the courier brother at the office, saying that the fruit she bought had arrived.

Ms. He asked the courier to put the courier at the door, and the younger brother repeatedly told: "Don't throw the incubator, I will collect it this afternoon."

  This e-commerce platform commonly used by Ms. He has used recyclable incubators for several years.

"The salmon, cod, and lamb chops I often buy are packaged in this kind of incubator. After each delivery, I take the things out and the courier will take the boxes away." Ms. He said.

  This kind of recycled express incubator is an attempt by postal express companies to promote the greening of express packaging.

According to industry insiders, there are mainly 6 types of express packaging. 10% of the main packaging is envelopes, 55% is packaging boxes, 34% is plastic packaging bags, as well as fillings, tapes, and internally handled transit bags. There are many types and dosages. Big.

Promoting the reduction of express packaging is an important part of promoting green packaging.

  According to the warehouse management staff of a postal express company, during the "Double 11" period this year, the company used more than 50,000 recycle boxes in a single warehouse every day, replacing the past more than 200,000 cartons and plastic packaging materials per day.

Another postal express company, in conjunction with e-commerce platforms, jointly launched 60,000 sites to encourage packaging recycling, 10,000 sites to pilot the recycling of old packaging projects, and encourage and promote express packaging recycling through various forms.

  In recent years, in order to promote the greening, reduction and recycling of express packaging, the State Post Bureau has promoted the addition of relevant provisions on express packaging governance in the e-commerce law and other laws to guide delivery companies to strengthen technological innovation in key areas such as green packaging; The Interim Regulations, the "Express Market Management Measures" and the "National Standards for Express Services" clarify the relevant requirements for express delivery operations, and print and distribute the "Application Reference for Mail Express Packaging Waste Recycling Boxes" to steadily promote the recycling and reuse of packaging waste.

  Through the electronicization of express waybills and packaging reduction, the exploration of greening and reduction in my country's express delivery industry has made progress: in 2020, replacing traditional paper express waybills with electronic waybills is equivalent to saving 83.3 billion A4 paper consumption. ; Reduce the number of corrugated paper layers of corrugated boxes from 5 to 3 or even less, reduce the thickness of the packaging bag from 0.06 mm to 0.03 mm, and reduce the tape width from 60 mm and above to 45 mm and below.

  By promoting postal express companies to install standard-compliant packaging waste recycling devices at postal express outlets, reusing packaging boxes and filling materials that are in good shape and quality after recycling, and guiding postal express couriers to come to the door and recycle at post stations, etc., The State Post Bureau is exploring the establishment of a "reverse logistics" model for the recycling of express mail packages.

Up to now, the whole industry has put into use 3.8 million recyclable express boxes (boxes), effectively reducing the amount of packaging boxes, packaging bags and fillers.

  The "Management Measures for Express Mail Packages" that came into effect on March 12 clarified the requirements and principles for packaging selection, stipulating that shipping companies should strictly implement the packaging management system, giving priority to reusable and easily recyclable packaging, and reducing packaging usage of.

The "Measures" require shipping companies to reasonably carry out packaging operations, not to wrap too much tape, and to minimize the number of packaging layers, voids and fillers.

In addition, delivery companies are encouraged to establish and improve working mechanisms and recycling procedures to recycle and reuse packaging.

The current green practice of express packaging is also facing difficulties

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

  "I was sending luggage from Guangzhou to Beijing. I saw the courier wrapping tape around the box. I couldn't stand it. It was a waste!" Mr. Liu from Beijing said helplessly, "I said don't wrap so much, it's bad Leave it to me. The couriers say no, they have their standards and must ensure safety." The reporter visited a number of postal express companies, and many couriers said that the current main task is to deliver the express to customers safely. , Sometimes you don’t think too much about the issue of frugal packaging materials.

  Consumers have the awareness of recycling and reduction, but they lack practical channels; postal express companies have made relevant attempts, and they are bound to consider issues such as shipping safety and cost increase.

  During the interview, some couriers also told reporters that they would reduce the use of packaging materials according to the specific conditions in their work. When it is not easy to leak, try to wrap the tape as little as possible; according to the specific situation of the item, use less or no filler.

They will also ask customers if they are willing to recycle the boxes during the delivery, and keep some boxes that are basically no problem.

  Express packaging has been reduced and green, and technological exploration has also been advancing.

An industry insider engaged in express packaging design told reporters that taking corrugated boxes as an example, many cartons are covered with a layer of plastic film in order to look good or waterproof, but this also makes cartons difficult to recycle. "Many agricultural products such as fruits, Moisture will evaporate during transportation, or it will be easily damp when placed in a cold storage. If it is not covered, the cartons will collapse easily and cannot protect the goods. At present, some institutions are also exploring new processes to get rid of the coating technology."

  "Regardless of packaging materials or filling materials, the cost of biodegradable materials is several times that of ordinary materials, so they can only be used on high value-added products." This industry insider said.

  As for recycling packaging, a relevant person in charge of a postal express company introduced that in terms of express recycling boxes, the cost of packaging is mainly two yuan. One is the material cost of the packaging box. Under normal circumstances, to ensure that the packaging can be recycled multiple times, plastic is purchased The cost of the box is 15-20 times that of the carton of the same specification, and the service life of the box is 30-40 times.

The main reason for the high cycle operation cost is that in the express delivery scenario, the cycle management system needs to be put into use in the early stage, and costs such as packaging recovery and allocation, cleaning and maintenance have to be invested in the operation process.

After overall calculation, compared with cartons, there is no obvious cost advantage for circular packaging at this stage.

  According to the person in charge of the State Post Bureau, the green governance of express packaging faces three problems:

  First of all, the system of laws, regulations and standards still needs to be improved.

Express packaging involves packaging manufacturers, packaging sales companies, commodity manufacturers, senders (e-commerce operators and general users), postal express companies, recipients, community properties, waste recycling companies, garbage disposal agencies, and other multi-party entities. The current laws, regulations, and standards are mainly targeted at postal express companies, and they lack effective constraints on other subjects, restricting the effectiveness of governance.

  Secondly, the synergy between upstream and downstream needs to be strengthened.

Parcels from upstream e-commerce operators account for more than 70% of the express business volume. Through the guidance of postal express companies to upstream users, currently 76% of e-commerce express parcels are no longer repackaged in the delivery link.

Therefore, promoting upstream industries such as e-commerce to implement green packaging requirements has become the key to express packaging governance.

  Third, the green supply is insufficient.

At present, the industry's green supply is relatively insufficient, and the green products, technologies and models that focus on the actual needs of the industry are lacking. Under natural conditions, the promotion of biodegradable packaging is costly. The application model of recyclable packaging is in urgent need of innovation, and the replacement cost remains high.

According to statistics, if the entire industry uses biodegradable plastic packaging bags and environmentally friendly tapes to replace the currently used ordinary plastic packaging bags and ordinary plastic tapes, based on the business volume in 2020, the entire industry will increase the cost of 18.79 billion yuan, accounting for the national express service. About 2.1% of corporate business revenue.

Green express delivery is everyone's responsibility

  In order to call on consumers to participate in express packaging recycling, a postal express company and an e-commerce platform have newly installed 13,000 green recycling boxes. During the "Double 11" period this year, 500,000 fresh eggs were prepared every day for consumers who participated in express box recycling. By.

  It is worth noting that usage habits are also related to the promotion and application of environmentally friendly express packaging.

  An industry insider said: “Express delivery is a complete system. At this stage, some recyclable and biodegradable packaging materials may have a little inferior physical properties such as compression resistance. So how to adapt these materials is very important for the entire system. Test."

  The "Management Measures for the Packaging of Express Mails" comprehensively stipulates the obligations of the shipping companies in terms of packaging selection, packaging operations, and packaging recycling and reuse.

However, most of the delivery companies cannot fulfill the corresponding obligations without the cooperation of the users. For example, for the packaging operations carried out by the courier in accordance with the specifications, the user should not make unreasonable requirements such as excessive winding tape; the self-provided packaging does not meet the requirements and the courier requires The user shall not refuse or hinder the replacement or replacement; for the recyclable packaging put into use by the shipping company, the recipient should return the recyclable packaging to the courier after taking out the inner parts.

  According to the person in charge of the State Post Bureau, in the next step, the State Post Bureau will fully implement the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, the E-commerce Law and other legal regulations, comprehensively promote the green governance of express packaging, improve the regulations, standards and policy systems, and continue to promote green express packaging. , Reduction and recycling.

  The State Post Bureau calls on users to actively participate in and earnestly cooperate with the relevant work of the postal administration and delivery companies to jointly contribute to the construction of green express delivery and the construction of a beautiful China.

  (Wang Luchun participated in the collection and writing)

  Our reporter Li Xinping, Lu Shaogang, Cheng Chen

  Layout design: Cai Huawei