How far is green packaging for express delivery?

Every year's "Double Eleven" is called the "Spring Festival travel rush" of e-commerce and express delivery industry. In addition to the long-standing problems such as site explosion and parcel backlog, consumers and the media have paid more and more attention to the pollution of express delivery packaging in recent two years.

The forecast from the State Post Bureau shows that during the "Double Eleven" period this year, the total express delivery business in China is expected to exceed 1.5 billion pieces. If the average package length is .2 meters, it will be more than 3, kilometers, which is close to the distance from the earth to the moon, enough to circle the earth seven and a half times.

Can these new measures, such as paper packaging, "no tableware" and * * * enjoying express boxes, improve the waste of resources and environmental pollution caused by express boxes? In order to answer these questions, the IT channel of People's Daily conducted a survey before the arrival of the "Double Eleven".

with the active guidance of the government, green packaging has become an industry trend

On November 4, 217, Mr. Zheng of Chongqing received a courier packed in a small plastic yellow box. After he signed for the goods, the courier immediately took away the little yellow box. This little yellow box is a * * * express box just launched this year, and Mr. Zheng is the first user in Chongqing to sign for this express box.

according to the data of China e-commerce research center, at present, 5, * * * express boxes have been put into use in cities such as Beishangguang. As of October this year, these 5, express boxes have saved 6.5 million express boxes.

IT channel of people's daily found that this year, the green logistics action represented by * * * enjoy the packaging box is in full swing. In March of this year, the special fund of rookie green alliance initiated by China Environmental Protection Foundation and rookie network was established; On June 5th, JD.COM launched the joint action for green supply chain-"Green Stream Plan". Suning Yunshang and other platforms have also released projects related to green logistics.

the actions initiated by these e-commerce platforms are inseparable from the policy guidance of government departments in the last year.

In December p>216, the Ministry of Commerce, the Central Network Information Office and the Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for E-commerce" and put forward the "Green E-commerce Action";

On July 22nd, 217, the State Post Bureau proposed to promote the implementation plan of green packaging for express delivery;

on November 2, 217, ten ministries and commissions, including the State Post Bureau, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Collaborative Promotion of Green Packaging in Express Delivery Industry, aiming to increase the application ratio of degradable green packaging materials to 5% by 22, and basically establish a special express packaging recycling system.

......

"Prosperity, democracy, civilization, harmony and beauty are the symbols of a powerful socialist modernization country. The report of the 19th National Congress mentioned' ecological civilization '12 times,' beauty '8 times and' green '15 times." Wang Mei, deputy director of the State Post Bureau, said at the post office's 218 work retreat. She said that it is necessary to continue to promote the green, reduced and recyclable packaging of postal services and express delivery, and truly realize the transition from "tape around the earth" to "green around the earth".

under such policy guidance, enterprises began to explore green logistics more deeply. This year's "Double Eleven", JD.COM launched a recycling packaging bag-after picking up the goods in JD.COM, the red packaging bag was recycled by the staff, returned to the warehouse and packaged again. Cainiao Network has started carton recycling in key cities, including rookie stations of 5 universities. Consumers can choose to leave cartons at the rookie stations after receiving and unpacking. Suning.cn used the "little yellow box"-* * * to enjoy the express box, and the courier immediately recycled it for reuse after delivering it to the door.

The concept is weak, the profit is meager, and the establishment of the recycling system remains to be solved.

Although green packaging has become a new trend in the industry, from the government to e-commerce platforms to express delivery companies, this work has been promoted, but there are still many difficulties to make billions of packages truly "land" in green packaging every year, and the difficulty of recycling is one of them.

Take the most traditional carton recycling as an example. Master Xu of Yunda Express in Peking University introduced that cartons can always be recycled, but many customers will take the unopened cartons with them after signing for the packages. The courier sometimes reminds me, but it doesn't help. "Some parcels are small, it is convenient to take cartons, and you are too lazy to open them." Master Xu guessed.

When visiting the express delivery point near a residential area in Beijing, the staff also told People's Daily IT Channel: "Customers decide whether to open the box on the spot and leave it, and we have no right to force it. Occasionally, cartons can be recycled when delivered to the door, but if the recyclable packaging is deliberately taken every time, the working hours will be delayed, and the employment cost of the outlets will also increase. "

On the one hand, express outlets are too busy to recycle, on the other hand, the public has a shallow understanding of express packaging and lacks knowledge of garbage classification, which makes the establishment of the system recycling encounter many obstacles.

it is difficult to recycle express packaging, and it is also difficult for the profit in the whole recycling industry to be meager year by year. In 214, the first domestic enterprise with Internet recycling qualification "Re-life" started in Beijing. "Re-life" has special recyclers who regularly come to collect waste products, which once covered more than 1, communities in Beijing, facilitating more than 3, people to collect domestic waste products. In September this year, "Re-life" stopped, and many enterprises that entered the waste recycling field of "internet plus" in the same situation.

"The express delivery business in our country is growing very fast, but with it, there are more and more packaging wastes such as plastic bags, cartons, fillers and tapes," said Weng Yunxuan, secretary-general of the Degradable Plastics Committee of China Plastics Association. "At present, the global recycling of packaging materials is not strong enough, and about 3% of them are discarded at will. In China, more than 3% of the packaging is discarded at will. "

Coincidentally, the take-away industry is also facing similar problems. Since Chongqing Green Volunteers Association sued Baidu Takeaway, Meitu and Hungry for selling pollution, three take-away platforms began to launch a series of environmental protection plans. For example, Meituan and Hungry tried to add the "no tableware" option on the APP ordering page. However, this measure is often "cold" in actual operation. Han Han, a student at Jilin University, found that he often checked the "No Tableware" option, and the merchants still put disposable tableware for himself. "Merchants are still afraid that guests will give bad reviews." Han Han said.

In the face of recycling obstacles, Weng Yunxuan's view is that the packaging material itself is the key. He suggested: "While recycling, replace it with environmentally friendly materials, and do both."

A few days ago, some enterprises that produce packaging materials are also actively researching and developing environmental protection materials, and have made good progress. From the product point of view, it can be biodegradable within six weeks even if no one recycles it. Compared with the traditional way that waste can only be landfilled and incinerated, the new material can greatly reduce the environmental pollution caused by express packaging at the end. For example, in order to solve the problem that the adhesive tape is difficult to recycle, the conventional adhesive tape is simply abandoned once it is torn, and the environmental protection effect is realized by using a zipper packaging.

When asked about the profit of producing environmentally friendly materials, Li Yajuan, the chairman of Jinhui Zhaolong High-tech Co., Ltd. said: "From the perspective of enterprise profit alone, there is no profit from producing biodegradable materials. But we are going to do it, because it really benefits future generations. We are willing to go all out to participate in this change. "

"Double Eleven" is not only a national shopping festival, but also an environmental protection consumption day.

On October 2th, 216, the "Express Last Mile Summit" guided by the State Post Bureau and hosted by China Post Express was held in Beijing. At the meeting, ministries and commissions and enterprises in the industrial chain reached five "Beijing Knowledge", covering all aspects from the government to enterprises and then to the whole people. Among them, the fifth item is "to appeal to the vast number of express customers, users and people from all walks of life to actively advocate and use express green packaging, to be the promoter of the whole life cycle of express green packaging, and to achieve green development with low pollution, low consumption, low emission, high efficiency and high efficiency, to serve the construction of beautiful China and to contribute to the comprehensive construction of modern postal industry suitable for a well-off society".

so, how to mobilize the whole society to promote green logistics? Regarding this issue, Weng Yunxuan, secretary-general of China Plastics Association's Degradable Plastics Committee, thinks that, at the national level, we should continue to support green packaging manufacturers. If we learn from developed countries, the EU's approach is to exempt biodegradable materials from high recovery tax; The United States Department of Agriculture gives priority to the procurement of biomaterials. At present, the National Development and Reform Commission has provided special support for several times in 26, 28 and 214, and carried out demonstration work in cities such as Changchun, Wuhan and Shenzhen. Weng Yunxuan hopes that in the future, the country can introduce mandatory policies for packaging in express delivery and other industries.

"Without mandatory policies, it is still difficult to push these things forward." Weng Yunxuan explained.

the first thing is the standard of express packaging, so that "good money drives out bad money". This year, the State Post Bureau newly revised two industry standards in materials, namely, ordinary tape and biodegradable tape. However, progress is still slow on how to regulate the usage of express packaging, green certification and testing of express packaging products, and intellectual property protection of environmental protection technologies.

"It is very important to establish standards," said Xu Junhua, the head of the marketing department of Cainiao Network. "Once the standards are established, they can guide production enterprises and middle-stream circulation enterprises, and at the same time improve consumers' awareness of green packaging."

and the core of the difficulty lies in the promotion cost of green packaging. Xu Junhua pointed out: "If 5% of the e-commerce express packages in Ali and Taobao systems are converted into degradable materials, which will increase the cost of .5 yuan, it is estimated that there will be an extra 2 billion in the next five years, which is not something that any enterprise can digest alone. "

Facing the cost problem, Li Yajuan, the chairman of Jinhui Zhaolong High-tech Co., Ltd., believes that the government can give benefits to enterprises through special funds, tax incentives and financial subsidies.

The person in charge of the "Green Project" of the rookie network further told reporters: "Besides blood transfusion, it is of great practical significance to explore a reasonable business operation mode. If all links and parties in environmental protection can see the economic benefits, they can better promote green packaging. "

In addition to financial support, Zhang Libin, the chairman of Wuhan Gorgeous Company, who participated in the" Green Plan "of green packaging for rookie, suggested that these businesses and users who purchase and use green packaging should be encouraged by some names, such as setting a benchmark for enterprises and users, so as to play a leading role in demonstration.

In terms of consumers' awareness, "I think it is entirely possible to promote the development of green packaging by establishing an environment that enhances low-carbon environmental awareness and constantly enhancing the green awareness of the whole people." Zhang Libin said.

At the end of the survey, Xiao Zhou, a college student who has been paying attention to the progress of green packaging of express delivery, told People's Daily IT channel: Our consumption today should not be a burden for future generations. I hope that the annual "Double Eleven" is not only a carnival shopping festival for the whole people, but also an environmental protection consumption day for the whole people.