China is addressing waste from its giant e-commerce & courier industries. The huge boom in the industry has facilitated people's daily life – but the packages of express parcels are also generating massive waste. Data from the State Administration for Market Regulation indicate that China's courier industry produces around 1.8m tonnes of plastic waste and over 9m tonnes of paper waste each year. The MOFCOM requests e-commerce enterprises in key areas to gradually stop using non-degradable plastic bags and disposable woven bags – and reduce the use of non-degradable plastic cohesive tapes. Direct sourcing and direct shipping can also effectively reduce the use of packaging materials.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 17, 2021 11:04 UTC