In the Yuntianhua Jinning Flower Industry Modernization Demonstration Park in Kunming, Yunnan Province, the flower packaging line shows the journey of a flower "from flower field to vase". Xinhua News Agency

[Ecological Focus]

The story of "buying the casket and returning the pearl" is being staged in another form today - packaging waste.

Relevant statistics show that the increase in express packaging waste has accounted for more than 85% of the increase in China's domestic waste. Commodity gift box packaging has also become a major disaster area for waste. The exquisite and complex packaging gives consumers "face" but may lose the "inside".

Where is the upper limit of packaging? While consumers spend money on the value of the product itself, how much extra packaging do they have to pay?

In the pursuit of green and low-carbon life today, don't let excessive packaging "pressurize" our environment. Economical and environmentally friendly, the trend of reasonable packaging should be even stronger!

There is no winner in the "involution" of packaging

"I feel so happy when I receive the express delivery that I have been thinking about day and night! But sometimes, a small thing is wrapped up in a roll of foam plastic, which is really troublesome to unpack!" When talking about express packaging, Xiao Shao, a Beijing citizen, complained to reporters.

In this regard, the operator of the online store is also helpless: "But if the packaging is not strong enough, the buyer will not give a good review. Sometimes, the store will use tens of thousands of meters of packing tape in a month."

As the seller said, online shopping cannot allow buyers and sellers to communicate face to face, and packaging seems to have become an important way for sellers to express their "sincerity" to buyers. At the same time, the goods may be bumped during logistics, so merchants will try to make the packaging "tight" to prevent consumers from receiving damaged goods and avoid the trouble of after-sales claims.

According to statistics, the business volume of China's express delivery industry has ranked first in the world for 10 consecutive years. In 2023, it will be 132 billion pieces, and the annual per capita express delivery usage will exceed 90 pieces.

Behind the huge data is the massive consumption of materials such as wood, paper, and plastic. The discarded express packaging has caused a serious burden on the environment. Taking 2022 as an example, China consumed about 9.922 billion express packaging boxes, and the huge amount of packaging waste could fill nearly 200,000 football fields.

What's more frightening is that products such as express bags, tapes, and filling foams are difficult to degrade in the environment, and they will pollute the atmosphere, water, soil, etc. Even if they are harmlessly treated, the cost behind them is quite amazing.

While the "heavy style" of online shopping express packaging is popular, many of the commodity gift boxes that can be seen everywhere in offline supermarkets have taken the "gorgeous route".

Every New Year, beautifully packaged gift boxes have become the "hard currency" when people visit relatives and friends, and the ingenious packaging seems to add a lot of color to the seasonal food in the gift box. However, after unpacking the "nesting doll-style" packaging, there is often only an awkward "that's all", which is "not worthy" of the gorgeous packaging.

"Good packaging can certainly catch the attention of consumers, but if it only "rolls" the packaging, not the product quality and food taste, isn't this putting the cart before the horse? Consumers, businesses and the environment should not pay for this!" Xiao Shao has a clear attitude towards this.

Actively guide + introduce standards to curb excessive packaging

There is a "DuPont Law" in economics, that is, about 63% of consumers will be affected by packaging when choosing goods. Since the design of packaging largely affects consumers' desire to buy, then, in today's pursuit of a green and low-carbon lifestyle, can we also use environmentally friendly packaging to influence consumers' choices?

The reporter walked into a large supermarket in Beijing and found that various products were neatly arranged on the food and beverage shelves. On the packaging of many products, words such as "degradable" are particularly eye-catching. Some consumers said that they prefer products packaged with environmentally friendly materials, and said frankly that "environmentally friendly products should be supported more."

Related surveys show that in the current era of advocating green production methods and green living concepts, green packaging can impress many consumers. Producers use degradable and environmentally friendly materials, which is conducive to establishing a good corporate image in the minds of consumers. At the same time, the pressure on consumers to deal with domestic waste will also be reduced. This positive interaction between producers and consumers can attract consumers to buy again, thus forming a virtuous circle.

In recent years, China has carried out solid and effective work in the governance of excessive packaging.

"According to the national standard "General Principles for Restricting Excessive Packaging of Goods", "excessive packaging" refers to packaging that exceeds the normal packaging function requirements, and its packaging void ratio, packaging layers and packaging costs exceed the necessary level." Fan Ziwei, deputy director of the Quality Standards Department of the China Packaging Federation, pointed out.

In supermarkets, have you found that many agricultural products are "lightly packed" on the market? On April 1 this year, the newly revised mandatory national standard "Requirements for Restricting Excessive Packaging of Goods for Fresh Edible Agricultural Products" was officially implemented. The new national standard sets an upper limit of 10% to 25% for the packaging gap of fresh edible agricultural products of different categories and different sales packaging weights, and stipulates that vegetables and eggs shall not exceed 3 layers of packaging, and fruits, livestock and poultry meat, and aquatic products shall not exceed 4 layers of packaging. At the same time, the ratio of packaging cost to sales price of fresh edible agricultural products shall not exceed 20%, and for strawberries, cherries, bayberries, loquats, livestock and poultry meat, aquatic products and eggs with sales prices above 100 yuan, this ratio shall not exceed 15%.

"The introduction of the new national standard will help curb the comparison and excessive competition among businesses, and at the same time provide a basis for law enforcement for regulatory authorities. It has positive significance for strengthening the whole chain governance of excessive packaging of commodities, guiding the production and operation enterprises of fresh edible agricultural products to package appropriately and reasonably, and advocating rational consumption." Fan Ziwei said.

Solve the problem and build a green packaging system

In the view of Zhang Deyuan, director of the Circular Economy Research Office of the Institute of Economic System and Management, the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, almost all waste generation can be classified as an economic problem, because common packaging materials can basically be recycled technically. "But because some packaging materials are too scattered after use, coupled with small volume, low value and high recycling cost, many packaging materials can only be disposed of as "garbage" after use."

He believes that to solve the problem of excessive packaging, we can try to increase the research and development of new technologies and new models to make the recycling of packaging materials that were originally not economical to recycle "profitable", thereby achieving closed-loop recycling. "For example, for soft plastic packaging, a chemical recycling technology route can be developed." In addition, through the extended responsibility system, product producers can pay for the recycling and disposal of packaging after it is discarded, thereby building a sustainable recycling model.

"Of course, the green management of packaging should be a full-chain one, requiring the joint participation of commodity producers, merchants, logistics companies, consumers, and recyclers, and the combination of multiple links can solve the problem." Zhang Deyuan emphasized.

However, in order to build a complete and efficient green packaging system, there are still many problems, such as difficult recycling on the consumer side, high cost pressure on enterprises, insufficient resources, and difficulty in maintaining a separate recycling system. So, what attempts can be made in each link to contribute to the construction of this system?

On March 1 this year, the "Measures for the Administration of the Express Market" was officially implemented. The "Measures" require that enterprises engaged in express delivery business should actively recycle and reuse packaging materials, continuously increase the reuse ratio of express packaging, and promote the application of recyclable, easily recyclable and degradable express packaging.

At present, parcel recycling stations have been enabled in many express delivery stations in China. Entering the station, the eye-catching express packaging recycling posters can guide consumers to leave the express packaging and receive the recycling fee. It is reported that during the promotion period of the online shopping platform, the number of green recycling of the e-commerce logistics company Cainiao reached a new high, with nearly half of the cartons being recycled for mailing, and cartons that cannot be reused are recycled and reused through other means.

In response to the problem of recycling difficulties on the consumer side, relevant people suggested that couriers can recycle express packaging when delivering goods to the door, thus opening up the "last mile" of express packaging recycling.

"In addition to express delivery companies, the concept of green packaging should be promoted throughout society, especially to improve the awareness and acceptance of green packaging by manufacturers and consumers, so as to choose green packaging and promote the use of recyclable, degradable and recyclable packaging materials." Fan Ziwei said.

(Reporter Li Chunjian and Zhang Xiaohua)

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