Encouragement alone will not make packaging greener

A PROVISIONAL REGULATION on express deliveries came into effect on Tuesday, which requires express delivery enterprises and customers to use biodegradable or compostable materials for packaging purposes. Beijing News comments:

The provisional regulation also encourages express delivery enterprises and customers to recycle packaging materials, as well as avoid over-packaging, so as to minimize the harm done to the environment.

Packaging materials used for express delivery packages have already done much harm to the environment and it is no longer possible to turn a blind eye to the problem. Statistics show that in 2015 alone, 16.9 billion meters of adhesive tape, 425 times the length of the equator, were used for fast deliveries in China.