Leading courier companies have successively introduced reusable packaging.
EMS, Yunda, YTO, SF Express... Leading courier companies have successively introduced reusable packaging. Would you be willing to use it?
The average daily processing capacity is over 300 million items, with the annual per capita express volume close to 80 items—China's express delivery volume has ranked first in the world for nine consecutive years. However, with the increase in quantity, the by-products of each transaction, such as foam plastics, cardboard boxes, adhesive tape, etc., have seen an "explosive" increase, gradually becoming a major threat to the environment and a significant pain point affecting the industry's sustainable development.
After sending out the parcels, what about the packaging? Reporters found some answers at the Supply Chain and Business Services Exhibition Area of the 2023 Service Trade Fair.
The "green revolution" in the express delivery industry begins with recycling.
Entering Hall 13 of the Shougang Park at the Service Trade Fair, domestic leading express delivery companies such as EMS, SF Express, Cainiao, and "San Tong Yi Da" are lined up in a row. Among them, EMS and Yunda have prominently displayed reusable packaging at their booths.
At the EMS booth, reporters saw recyclable envelopes, boxes, document bags, and parcels. Unlike ordinary packaging items, these recyclable packages not only use environmentally friendly materials but also have an additional black small frame at the sealing point.
"This distinctive component is the 'intelligent identity lock' and 'digital waybill' of this recyclable express packaging," explained a staff member at the EMS booth, highlighting the results of EMS's recent efforts to promote the research and application of digitalized recyclable envelopes and boxes.
Recyclable packaging at the EMS booth.
Unlike ordinary document bags and boxes, digitalized packaging bags and boxes are equipped with "intelligent identity locks" and "digital waybills" supported by 5G, IoT, and other technologies. Each package has a unique code, allowing designated recipients to open the package. After receiving the recyclable packaging bags and boxes, users can scan the QR code on the smart lock screen with their phones to open the box and retrieve the items. Afterwards, users can choose to sign for the receipt in person or schedule a pick-up by a designated person, thus initiating the recycling of the packaging boxes.
Currently, the recyclable packaging document bags commonly used in China's express delivery industry can be reused more than a thousand times, while the EF corrugated boxes can be reused more than 10 times, with each use reducing approximately 0.275 kilograms of carbon emissions.
Similar to EMS, Yunda has developed an intelligent R lock that can be opened by scanning the code and encrypting the identity. Other express delivery companies such as YTO, ZTO, and STO have also introduced various recyclable packaging products.
Digital technology assists in carbon reduction in the express delivery industry.
In addition to "greening," Chinese express delivery companies have also concentrated on showcasing their achievements and technological capabilities in "digitalization" and "internationalization."
"In fact, the acceleration of the greening of the Chinese express delivery industry cannot be achieved without the development of digitalization behind it," said Qian Weihua, Deputy Director of the Office of the China Express Delivery Association, to reporters.
Introduction of digitalization at the STO booth.
On the right side of the STO booth, reporters saw a whole wall of electronic components and photos of photovoltaic panel application scenarios, as if entering a green and digitalized station rather than an express delivery company.
The booth staff explained that in addition to reducing carbon emissions in the packaging process, STO's green and environmental protection also lies in the transportation and transit processes. "STO has achieved full-cloud connection of sorting centers through the SCADA物联系统, equipped with independently developed new high-speed crossover belts and electrical control and operating systems, increasing sorting efficiency by 30%. Through energy-saving algorithms, equipment energy consumption can be flexibly adjusted according to the volume of business, reducing electricity consumption by 50% in current application scenarios, achieving energy saving and emission reduction."
Recycling requires joint efforts from all parties.
At the beginning of this year, the State Post Bureau held a press conference, stating that in 2023, it would implement the Green Development "9218" Project to accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of express delivery packaging. After half a year, what are the results?
"In my work and life, I have not yet encountered recyclable packaging," a professional visitor told reporters. Another professional visitor who joined the discussion expressed that he had encountered some recyclable packaging in his work. "For example, when buying second-hand books from the Duozhuayu website, the delivered parcels are using recyclable packaging. However, I still have reservations about recyclable packaging because after multiple uses, I am concerned about hygiene."