(File photo)

China used over 9.9 billion boxes and more than 3 billion woven bags for express delivery packaging in 2015. This is in addition to more than 16.9 billion meters of packing tape, which could encircle the equator 425 times, a recent government report stated.

By 2016, up to 30 billion packages will have been delivered in China, and that number could rise to 50 billion by 2018, according to the report issued by the State Post Bureau (SPB). The report aimed to warn against excessive packaging, and called to standardize the disposal of packing materials.

China is home to the world’s fastest growing postal market, the Xinhua News Agency reported. In the second half of 2016, the industry could be priced at up to 10.7 billion RMB, up 6.2 percent. Meanwhile, the booming industry hardly bothers itself over environmental protection. The non-biodegradable plastic bags and tape used on packages could mean annual carbon dioxide emissions of 20 to 30 million tons.

At the same time, fewer than 20 percent of packages are properly recycled, largely because tape is hard to detach from paper boxes. The higher cost of biodegradable bags also makes the industry hesitate, according to Xinhua.

As the SPB mulls standardizations in 2017 to make the industry more eco-friendly, Chinese express delivery companies are also preemptively adjusting their own policies. Express delivery giant SF Express began to use thinner tape and boxes in 2014, while several e-commerce platforms have been promoting package recycling. In 2015, recycled boxes totaled 2 million in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

A total of 32 express delivery companies have also pledged to reduce their packaging materials by half, and to make 100 percent of their cushioning materials biodegradable by 2020.