Traditional packaging such as cartons occupies the mainstream. Why is recyclable express packaging rarely seen in daily life?

　　Traditional packaging such as cartons, foam boxes and plastic bags occupy the mainstream

. Why are recyclable express packaging rarely seen in daily life?

　　In the past two years, many departments and related enterprises have vigorously promoted recyclable express packaging to accelerate the "green revolution" of express packaging.

The reporter recently interviewed and found that in the express delivery received by consumers, traditional packaging such as cardboard boxes, foam boxes, and plastic bags occupy the mainstream, and recyclable express packaging is still rarely seen in daily life.

　　More and more investment

　　The end consumption link is still rare

　　The reporter learned from an interview that at present, a number of express delivery companies have launched recyclable express packaging.

At present, ZTO Express uses more recycle transfer bags, the size of which is about the same as that of ordinary woven bags, which can be recycled more than 50 times, which is higher than the service life of ordinary woven bags of 1 to 3 times; the average annual usage in Shanxi Province is 5 million to 6 million times.

　　"In 2018, SF Express launched the 'Feng BOX' reusable packaging box, which is currently mainly used for sending clothes, shoes and other items." said Xu Kai, deputy general manager of Shanxi SF Express Co., Ltd.

　　The circular express box "Qingliu Box" developed by JD.com has been regularly used in more than 30 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

JD.com will fully use foldable heat preservation turnover boxes to replace disposable foam boxes in the fresh food business, which will be used more than 60 million times in 2021.

　　Data show that in 2021, the total business volume of express service enterprises nationwide will complete 108.30 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 29.9%.

Compared with the huge total volume of express delivery, the proportion of recyclable packaging is relatively small.

　　The reporter found in many interviews that only a small number of consumers have used such packaging in individual categories of goods, and many consumers have "never used recyclable express boxes" in their lives, and many couriers also said "haven't seen this. kind of packaging".

　　Many industry insiders explained that at present, recyclable packaging is mostly used for B-end customers such as government procurement and e-commerce platform supply, and relatively few to C-end customers.

　　Difficulties in 'last mile' recycling

　　Low market recognition of "promoting but not spreading"

　　The reporter's investigation found that the cost of recyclable express packaging is higher than that of ordinary packaging, and it is difficult to recycle in the "last mile" of the logistics terminal, resulting in a low market recognition of "promotion but not widespread".

　　Zhao Xiaolong, general manager of ZTO Express Shanxi Management Center, calculated an account for the reporter: Take the recyclable box of ZTO Express’s unit price of 36.5 yuan as an example, after 50 cycles, the single cost can be reduced to 0.73 yuan, which is lower than its similar size. The cost of box 4.

"However, in the recycling process, the recycling box will incur additional costs such as manual operation, scanning, and vehicle transportation, which virtually increases the cost pressure on express outlets."

　　In fact, the real-life cycle of such packaging is far from the original design.

The person in charge of a logistics company in Xi'an revealed to reporters that the circulation box had been implemented for a period of time before, but it was difficult to achieve the designed number of cycles.

　　"Although the courier repeatedly stated that the box should be returned, many users are not used to it and want to keep it for themselves or sell the waste. There are also users who worry that once the number of uses is too many, the recycling box will not be clean and strong." The person in charge Said that the breakage rate and loss rate of recyclable express boxes are high, and companies have to shift their focus to B-end customers with higher recycling efficiency due to cost considerations.

　　In addition to the cost of materials, because the "last mile" delivery is based on the principle of "seeking speed", the high time cost also makes many couriers "unlovable" for the recycling box.

　　A practitioner gave an example to the reporter. An experienced courier can deliver about 200 pieces in a single day. Calculated based on 8 hours of work, the delivery time for a single piece is about 2.4 minutes, and the recycling box needs to be unpacked on the spot. For recycling, the average delivery time is 8 minutes.

Under the same conditions, the delivery efficiency of circulation box express is only one third of that of ordinary express.

　　In the eyes of many consumers, the use of recyclable express boxes means "trouble".

Usually, such packaging requires the user to unpack and pick up the goods on site, and then the courier will take the packaging away for recycling.

Some consumers are reluctant to unpack on-site due to privacy concerns.

　　For students and office workers, the pickup time is limited, and most couriers can only be delivered at the courier station or courier locker.

"After get off work, go home to unpack and sign for receipt, and then wait for the courier to come to pick it up." Ms. Yang, a citizen of Xi'an who has used recycle express boxes, said that using recycle express boxes is "a bit of a toss".

　　In addition, industry insiders said that at present, the overall express distribution trend is from the southeast coast to the northwest inland, and there are difficulties in reverse logistics, resulting in a large number of recycling boxes that cannot be reused in the logistics network after use.

　　Smooth process and remove barriers

　　Get out of a circular "dead end"

　　The "Measures for the Management of Mail and Express Packages", which will be implemented from March 12, 2021, clearly stipulates that delivery companies should give priority to reusable and easy-to-recycle packaging, and encourage delivery companies to establish and improve working mechanisms and recycling processes. Recycle and reuse.

　　Many interviewees believe that to speed up the recycling of express packaging and achieve the goals of green, environmental protection and conservation, it requires the joint efforts of manufacturers, delivery companies and users.

　　At present, the industry has not established a unified and standardized recyclable express packaging production and recycling process.

Although a number of express delivery companies have launched their own brand of recyclable express packaging, in the production, use and recycling process, the recycling box can only flow in the logistics chain within the company, which invisibly increases the use cost of recycling packaging. , which also limits coverage.

　　Li Zhiqiang, associate professor of the Department of Packaging Engineering at Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, said that relevant government departments can coordinate major enterprises in the logistics field to form a unified circular packaging operation model.

　　Industry insiders suggested that a big data platform should be established to improve the information tracking of the whole life cycle of recyclable packaging, so that reverse logistics or local disposal of packaging would be possible; Cleaning and sanitizing work to reduce wastage and loss rates.

In addition, appropriate support should be given to environmentally friendly packaging production enterprises to improve the recognition of recyclable express packaging in the whole society, so that recyclable packaging can truly enter thousands of households.

　　Text/Xinhua