Courier boxes go reusable in Yangzhou

A staff member shows the reusable courier box developed by retail giant Suning on Oct 31, 2017. [Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua]

A kind of reusable courier boxes developed by retail giant Suning were recently put into practice in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. 

Compared to the ordinary cardboard boxes, the new containers were designed using collapsible plastic, can be kept and reused, and each of them costs 25 yuan for more than 1,000 times of cycle use. 

The innovation has been attributed to China's e-commerce sector, which on one hand has contributed to the country's economic boost, but on the other has added an environmental downside for waste packaging materials. 

According to statistics from the State Post Bureau, in the face of deliveries from online vendors soaring, the express delivery services handled a record 401 billion parcels in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 28 percent. 

Yangzhou's introduction of reusable courier boxes is just in the preliminary stage, awaiting the mass-market launch during this year's online shopping spree for Single Day on Nov 11. 

Nationwide, the reusable boxes have been used in many municipalities and provincial capitals, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Zhengzhou and Jinan. 

Suning forecasts more than 200,000 boxes will be used in 2018, mainly for the collection of 3C electronics (computer, communication and consumer), maternity and children's products, and fragile items.

A staff member at Suning puts goods into the reusable courier boxes. [Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua]

A staff member at Suning scans courier boxes for delivery information. [Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua]

A staff member at Suning puts courier boxes on the conveyor belt for further sorting. [Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua]