Is reusable packaging an environmentally friendly alternative to the single-use plastic bag? A case study of express delivery packaging in China

The rapid growth of employing single-use plastic delivery bags (SPDBs) as express delivery packaging has led to serious resource depletion and environmental pollution. To mitigate these environmental threats, reusable plastic delivery boxes (RPDBs) were developed as an alternative option. This study utilized the life cycle assessment method to compare the environmental impacts of RPDBs and SPDBs. The results indicated that RPDBs cause fewer environmental impacts than SPDBs during intra-city delivery but higher impacts during inter-city delivery. Greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production were found to be the largest impact contributor, mainly from fossil energy generation during primary plastic pelleting. Increasing the average number of reuse cycles of RPDBs to 50, by 2025, would generate 6.24 million kg CO2-eq but could reduce CO2-eq emissions by 309.3 million kg and tons of plastic wastes by 0.96 million, compared to using SPDBs.

Automated summary

The rapid growth of employing single-use plastic delivery bags (SPDBs) as express delivery packaging has resulted in resource depletion and environmental pollution. To mitigate these threats, reusable plastic delivery boxes (RPDBs) were developed. Life cycle assessment was used to compare the environmental impacts of RPDBs and SPDBs. The results showed that RPDBs cause fewer environmental impacts during intra-city delivery but higher impacts during inter-city delivery. The largest impact contributor was greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production, mainly from fossil energy generation during primary plastic pelleting. By increasing the average number of reuse cycles of RPDBs to 50, by 2025, CO2-eq emissions could be reduced by 309.3 million kg and plastic waste by 0.96 million tons compared to using SPDBs.