China's State Post Bureau (SPB) recently issued an implementation plan to promote environmentally friendly packaging in the express delivery industry. The plan requires packages to be green, light and recyclable.

The rapid development of the e-commerce industry has in turn facilitated the integration of the express shipping, manufacturing and service industries. In 2015, China's express delivery industry delivered 20.67 billion items, ranking first in the world. The figure for the first seven months of this year has already reached 15.75 billion.

Zhu Lei, a member of the research group behind the plan, said that the surging express delivery industry is currently consuming a tremendous volume of packaging materials.

Those materials include envelopes, cartons, plastic bags, cloth bags, tape and styrofoam cushioning. Cartons account for about 50 percent of the total material consumption, with plastic bags responsible for 40 percent. In addition, the tape being used is not biodegradable.

The recycling rate of cartons and plastic bags is lower than 10 percent, according to Zhu. Zhu added that most of the packages will be sent to landfills, putting great pressure on the urban environment. He said the the overall recycling rate of packages in China is no more than 20 percent, while in some developed countries it is up to 45 percent for cartons and 25 percent for plastic bags.

In addition, many plastic bags in China are made from materials contaminated by chemical, medical and household waste. Such plastic contains pathogens like heavy metals, toxic organic substances, bacteria and viruses.

"The plan is designed to cope with these problems, and we hope to guide the express delivery industry to become more green and energy-effective," said Zhu. Though packaging materials only account for 20 percent of the industry's revenue, the "greening" of packaging materials will nonetheless promote the whole industry.

According to the plan, a general package recycling system will take shape by 2020.