Biodegradable packaging

From December 1, 2020, Hainan became the first province in China to legislate against nonbiodegradable plastic use. Accordingly, the province has promoted the use of fully biodegradable plastics, which have been widely applied in the local express delivery industry.

Zhongkexinhui (Hainan) New Material Technology Co, established in 2019, produces fully biodegradable packaging bags in cooperation with the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its annual production capacity of fully biodegradable plastics is 10,000 tons, including 3,000 tons for express packaging bags.

Wu Jun, the company's president, said that these fully biodegradable bags have gone through rigorous quality tests and fulfill express packaging requirements. "Thanks to government support and policy promotion, express companies have become aware of the importance of degradability," he said.

Last year, 13 million fully degradable bags were sold. A surge in demand was seen from January to March this year, with over 7 million being sold during the period, according to Wu. The company's clients include major express firms such as Yunda Express, ZTO Express, STO Express and YTO Express.

Lu Bo, a senior engineer from the CAS institute, said that the fully biodegradable material is made of PBAT and PLA, and decomposes into water and carbon dioxide in compost within 180 days. PBAT and PLA are biodegradable polymers made from corn starch.

"Though the cost of the biodegradable material is relatively high, application on a larger scale could help lower the cost," said Lu. "Promoting biodegradable materials in the express delivery industry is meaningful as it has wide coverage and could raise public awareness of environmental protection."

To meet the requirements of the plastic ban, SF Express in Hainan has used fully biodegradable packaging bags and degradable tapes since 2021. Over 40 million bags have been used since 2021, and degradable tapes are used in all delivery stations across the province, according to Shen Qi, head of SF Express' green packaging project.

These degradable materials will be promoted gradually across the country, Shen said.

Zhu Li, deputy director of the industry department at the development and research center of the State Post Bureau, said that as green packaging in the express delivery sector involves multiple stages from production, usage and recycling to disposal, coordinated efforts across the entire supply chain are essential.

"The amended regulation specifies responsibilities of relevant parties in promoting green express packaging and outlines enforcement and monitoring mechanisms, providing a solid legal foundation for managing sustainability throughout the industry chain," Zhu said.

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