China Wages War against Delivery Packaging Waste

China Wages War against Delivery Packaging Waste

China， the worlds largest express delivery market， has been waging a war against waste produced by delivery services through tougher regulations and environmentally friendly packaging， according to the countrys postal authority.

Over 50.7 billion parcels were delivered last year by express delivery， accounting for more than 50 percent of the world market. The average annual growth of the express delivery industry in China stood at 41.5 percent over the past 30 years， said Ma Junsheng， head of Chinas State Post Bureau. “The total number of express deliveries will， without any doubt， top 60 billion this year，” he said at a recent news conference of the State Council Information Office.

The bureau is drawing up a tougher regulation targeting green logistics to reduce plastic pollution. “So far， 96 percent of courier companies have adopted digital waybills， and 12，000 waste sorting devices have been deployed in courier service branches nationwide，” he said， adding that 45 percent of products sold on e-commerce platforms no longer use secondary packaging.

At the same time， the express firms still fell short of using recycled environmentally friendly packaging. The bureau has required 70 percent of their packaging materials to be renewable by the end of this year， up from only 44 percent at present.

Worlds Highest Altitude Electricity Project Kicks off

A project to connect Ngari， 4，500 meters above sea level， with the central Tibet power grid started recently. As the highest altitude power transmission and distribution project in the world currently， it will end the isolation of the regional grid in Ngari and provide a stable power supply to the 380，000 residents in the prefecture.

Power lines will be connected over 1，689 km from Xigaze to Ngari， crossing 10 Tibetan counties and urban districts. With an investment of RMB 7.4 billion， the project is scheduled to become operational by 2021.

So far， 10 counties in Tibet are still relying on local power grids that are small， less reliable， and have a low generating capacity. The new project will connect seven of them to the extensive central Tibet power grid. Eventually an interconnected power supply network will cover the whole autonomous region， facilitating local efforts of poverty eradication and energy security. Moreover， it will stimulate exploration and export of clean energy in the region.

Xinjiang Shows Signs of Strong Growth in All Aspects

Since the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang 70 years ago， the region has made impressive progress in improving local peoples livelihood. From 2014 to 2018， 2.3 million people in the autonomous region rose above poverty， bringing down its incidence of poverty to 6.1 percent by the end of 2018 from 19.4 percent at the end of 2013.

Public health has been greatly improved with the introduction of free health checks， insurance for major diseases， subsistence allowances， and a three-tier medical care system. The average life expectancy of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang has risen from 30 years in the early days of the Peoples Republic of China to the current 72.35 years.

Seven decades ago， less than one fifth of school-age children in Xinjiang were able to attend school， and the illiteracy rate was as high as 90 percent for the population. Last year， its primary education enrollment rate stood at 99.91 percent， and the enrollment rate in kindergartens was 95.95 percent. Nine-year compulsory education is accessible throughout the region.

Social stability and environmental preservation have boosted tourism over recent years. In 2018， Xinjiang received 150 million visits of domestic and international tourists， up 40.1 percent from the previous year. Visits during the first half of this year amounted to 75.89 million， up 46 percent over the same period during last year.

Electric Car Creates Massive Business Opportunities

A study by the consultation company iResearch showed that by June of this year， there were more than one million electric vehicle charging piles in operation across China， including 412，000 public ones and 590，000 private ones， and the number of newenergy automobiles stood at 3.44 million. This means one pile for every 3.4 vehicles.

China plans to increase the number of charging piles to 4.8 million by the end of 2020， which will be able to serve five million new-energy vehicles. This huge gap to be closed spells huge opportunities for providers of charging services. The electric vehicle charging market is estimated to exceed RMB 15 billion by the end of this year and RMB 20 billion next year.