E-commerce is booming, and online shopping has become a living habit of many people. How to reduce and manage express packaging waste is becoming increasingly important. The E-commerce Packaging Waste Reduction Alliance has released guidelines to promote the industry to reduce unnecessary packaging waste.

Singapore is estimated to have about 186,000 express parcels delivered every day in 2023, and the total amount of packaging waste generated throughout the year is as high as 15,900 metric tons. To achieve the goal of “zero Waste”, an action alliance of 14 e-commerce players, relevant industry associations and scholars has jointly developed the Guidelines on Sustainable E-commerce Packaging.

Dr. Xu Lian-chan, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment and Senior Minister of Transportation, said Tuesday (March 4) when debating the Ministry of Sustainable Affairs expenditure budget at the Congressional Appropriations Committee that the new guide provides specific 3R (reduction, reuse, recycle) solutions for various e-commerce packaging such as cartons, mail and fillers.

For example, for carton packaging, the new guide proposes seven ways to reduce usage, such as providing more cartons of different sizes to avoid over-large packaging, or switching to lighter materials instead of cartons.

Each plan is accompanied by implementation steps for the company to consider and lists advantages and disadvantages. The guide also compares and evaluates various plans based on the difficulty, cost and environmental impact of implementation, so as to facilitate enterprises to choose suitable plans.

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Xu Lianzhuo pointed out that these solutions are assessed based on the effort, cost and environmental impact required. Businesses can choose the best solution for their needs to achieve cost savings and minimize environmental impact.

In addition to 3R solutions, the guide also provides an operation model to assist e-commerce platforms in promoting sustainable packaging and raising environmental awareness among consumers and suppliers.

The guide also covers evaluation forms for management to evaluate the maturity of businesses in sustainable packaging management and understand where improvements can be made.

For example, Watsons Singapore chops used cartons as filler to reduce the use of bubble film and saves packaging costs by 5% to 10%.