Govt offices embrace recyclable packaging

China launched a campaign to promote green packaging in express delivery services in government offices on Thursday as part of a move to advance green development.

Environmentally friendly wrapping products and facilities related to express delivery services, such as customized bins to collect recyclable wrapping and padding materials, narrower tape, tape-free boxes and recycled transfer boxes will be provided and placed in government offices.

The campaign, initiated by the State Post Bureau and the National Government Offices Administration, will start in central government departments and then spread to more offices.

Green-colored bins to collect different types of recyclable wrapping materials, such as plastics and paper, have been placed in the Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs and China National Intellectual Property Administration. The bins will eventually be placed in more than 20 central government bodies.

Zhu Chengyi, an official with the National Government Offices Administration, urged efforts to improve people's awareness of environmentally friendly packaging, so that they refuse to use non-green wrapping and insist on using packaging that has been recognized as green.

He also suggested people avoid excessive wrapping, such as using too much padding.

A small change in habits, such as using green parcel wrapping, will make for a greener and more civilized society, he said.

China's parcel delivery sector has seen significant development in recent years, with 83.3 billion parcels delivered last year and 95.5 billion expected to be delivered this year.

The large number of parcels brings convenience to people's lives, but the large amount of wrapping used also causes pollution.

The State Post Bureau has launched campaigns to promote green wrapping in the express delivery sector, with the aim of reducing the amount of wrapping, promoting the use of green materials and encouraging the use of recycled packaging.

"Compared with a few years ago, clients can see that the packages delivered to them have become smaller, with narrower tape and thinner boxes," said Zhao Min, deputy director of the bureau.

He also noted the increase in the use of recycled wrapping in recent years.

Yin Xunguo, head of bureau's environmental protection section, said the bureau promotes reductions in the use of packaging consumables and the use of more green and low-carbon packaging materials.

For example, scientific packing methods have been encouraged across the country to cut down on the use of tape. After the implementation of the methods, 500 million meters less tape was used last year than in 2017.

China Post has set up more than 20,000 outlets to collect recyclable packaging waste across the country to minimize the negative impact to the environment.

Shi Chunhua, a courier with China Post, said that when he picks up packages from clients, he suggests to them that they should use recycled wrapping and boxes.

"Otherwise, they usually don't know the options," he said.