A Review of Packaging Materials’ Consumption Regulation and Pollution Control

Abstract

With the strong development of e-commerce driving the growth of the express delivery industry, the levels of consumption of packaging materials and the pollution of the environment are becoming increasingly severe, which means that coordinated measures need to be taken by the government, enterprises, and the market. To regulate the consumption of packaging materials and control environmental pollution, in this paper, we analyze the current situation regarding packaging pollution in online commodities sales, the urgency of control, the causes of the excessive consumption of packaging materials, and pollution based on the externality theory and combined with the actual situation. Based on international experience, we put forward innovative suggestions regarding system governance in terms of the definition of property rights, financial subsidies, tax incentives, the optimization of the logistics and transportation system, improvements in community waste classification, and other aspects.

1. Background

As e-commerce has accelerated, online shopping has gradually become a popular form of consumption due to the low commodity prices, the large number of categories, flexibility, and convenience. In addition, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, people are more willing shop online to reduce contact and aid in epidemic prevention and control. The vigorous development of e-commerce has driven the growth of the express delivery industry, the widespread consumption of packaging materials, and increasingly serious environmental pollution. In 2020, the amount of national express packaging waste reached 16 million tons. In all, 40 million tons of express packaging materials was consumed. Paper products can be recycled effectively, but plastic packaging cannot be effectively recycled, becoming the main source of resource consumption and environmental pollution. The volume of China’s express delivery business has ranked first in the world for eight consecutive years, and it is expected that a growth rate of 20–30% will be maintained in the “15th Five-Year Plan”. The potential level of associated environmental pollution is huge [1,2,3,4], which is not conducive to the sustainable development of the economy, and society.

The concept of “sustainable development” was first put forward in the 1980s in the report entitled “Our Common Future”, and the environmental problems faced by human society were analyzed under the guidance of sustainable development, so as to effectively combine environmental protection with the development of human society [5]. The ecological environment is the foundation and underlying reason for human social development and progress, and environmental protection is a vital aspect of the economy and society. There are serious problems in China’s logistics industry, such as the excessive use of packaging and the repeated packaging of transported products, the use of packaging materials that are not environmentally friendly, and a low recycling rate of packaging materials. The problems related to materials consumption and environmental pollution are difficult for the government to tackle, have high costs, and affect the well-being of future generations, which are aspects that affect all sectors of society.

Therefore, related issues must urgently be studied. In terms of the problems related to regulation of the consumption of packaging materials used for goods sold online in China and pollution control, previous studies have mainly related to government legislation; however, there is a lack of systematic insights into pollution countermeasures. Based on the externality theory, in this paper, we analyzed the current situation regarding packaging pollution related to goods sold online in China, the urgency with which it should be rectified, the causes of excessive consumption and pollution caused by packaging materials, and other problems. We put forward policy recommendations from the perspective of multi-agent collaborative governance. The findings of this paper enrich the current research regarding the coordinated development of sustainability in terms of consumption and the environment. First, through the analysis of the urgency of online commodity packaging consumption and pollution control, research regarding environmental governance in the field of online shopping consumption externalities has been enriched. Secondly, this research enriches the analysis of the problem through use of externality theory. Finally, based on the perspective of multi-agent collaborative governance, in this paper, we propose countermeasures to solve the problem, which enrich the research regarding multi-actor collaborative governance in the field of environmental governance.

2. Literature Review

Due to the existence of externalities, in this research, we deviated from the optimal form of research by examining the environmental pollution of online commodity packaging through the market approach alone. Now, we must urgently determine how the consumption of packaging materials for online merchandising can be lessened and how environmental pollution can be controlled. At present, scholars have studied the consumption of packaging materials for online goods and the associated pollution from different perspectives.

From the perspective of consumers: Some scholars, e.g., researchers from Newcastle University, have shown that online shopping is very harmful to the environment. They indicated that online shopping will not have any environmental benefits unless it can replace traditional shopping, 25 orders can be delivered at the same time, or if the alternative is to travel to a shopping location that is more than 50 km away. Usama Al-Mulali et al. [6] investigated the impact of Internet retailing on carbon dioxide emissions in 77 developed and developing countries between 2000 and 2013, and they concluded that through online shopping, consumers travel less as they do not use various modes of transportation to get to their shopping destination. To prevent environmental damage, sellers should be encouraged to create a smart taxation system to comply with regulatory requirements [6], advocating for local consumption.

From the perspective of packaging material manufacturers: Li and Yan [7] explained that in the process of online shopping, excessive and complex packaging and disposable consumables further damage and imbalance the ecological environment, and the consumption process will also cause packaging pollution [7]. Elahi and Khalid [8] also showed that replacing traditional resources with green resources can reduce environmental pollution [8]. Bi Dongyi [9], using economic theory, explained that the fundamental measure that needs to be taken to reduce the packaging pollution caused by online sales is to restrict the production of refractory plastics, while auxiliary measures include the government’s collection of pollution taxes, environmental protection subsidies, and appealing to stakeholders’ morality [9]. Zhu Tingting [10] suggested that packaging production enterprises should increase their research and development efforts to increase the green supply of express packaging; e-commerce enterprises should guide green consumer demand and take measures such as environmental protection in terms of packaging sources [10]. Wang [11] examined the flaws of ordinary take-out boxes, which leak easily, are not hygienic, and are not environmentally friendly, and they designed a paper take-out lunch box which was formed digitally, which had a paper-shaped shaker with a tear opening. The lid-type, tray-type folding carton structure ensures the environmental protection of the takeaway lunch box in the production process, and it can be sealed effectively in the distribution process [11]. Zhang Yunan [12] found that the vast majority of packaging bags are plastic products. Although they have different specific components, a shared disadvantage is that they do not degrade easily in the natural environment [12].

Platform and logistics perspective: Pollach et al. [13] explained that takeout enterprises, e-commerce platforms, and customers are the main participants in the environmental pollution caused by online catering. They should be responsible for dealing with white pollution, and it is their responsibility to protect the sustainable ecological environment [13]. Li [14] established a recycling scheme with an incentive mechanism inspired by established recycling incentives to increase the level of express packaging recycling and ensure the green and low-carbon operation of the express e-commerce industry. The business platform is the best promoter of the entire recycling scheme, while the logistics enterprise is the direct promoter, the consumer is the terminator, and other social organizations are the facilitators [15]. Liu Suyi et al. [16] explained that express packaging waste comes in the form of plastic bags, fillers, packaging boxes, and tape, which put great pressure on resources and the environment [16].

The perspective of government legislation: Zheng Kejun et al. [17] explained that reduction in express packaging is an important measure to control pollution, and the government is bound by duty to ensure this. The government can achieve the comprehensive management of the reduction in express packaging through legislation, tax incentives, consumer education, and other measures [17]. Germany’s Packaging Law, promulgated in 1991, aims to promote the implementation of the “extension of producer responsibility”, emphasizing that producers have a responsibility for the recovery, recycling, and final disposal of products. The EU has also added green packaging to the product supply chain, requiring non-toxic and harmless raw materials to be selected during product packaging design to reduce environmental pollution. In the 1980s, the federal government of the United States formulated the Resource Protection and Recovery Act, which made general provisions on solid waste management, resource recovery, ecological protection, etc., while specific regulations regarding packaging waste management were formulated by the state governments, which adopted fiscal and tax policies to provide economic incentives. For example, New York State subsidizes manufacturers of degradable plastics, and Florida stipulates that, if a certain level of recycling is achieved, manufacturers can apply for exemption from tax on packaging waste. Belgium’s Ecological Tax Bill stipulates that all food packaged with paper and recycled packaging can be tax-free. The Container Packaging Recycling Law promulgated by Japan in 1997 promotes the classified collection and resource utilization of container packaging and promotes the classified recycling of packaging to make full use of resources by means of reduction and reuse. In 2002, Germany issued the Packaging Management Regulations, which stipulate that all stores should implement a mortgage system and collect packaging recovery mortgages of canned and bottled materials, so as to save energy and resources. Research by Guo et al. [18] showed that regulators, takeout platforms, and consumers have corresponding responsibilities in environmental protection relating to the consumption of online shopping goods and should work together to eliminate online takeout pollution to achieve sustainable consumption. Not only does the government need to implement legislation to improve the waste management system and encourage the exploration of new intelligent waste classification tools, but also platforms, enterprises, and users should increase their environmental awareness of online takeout packaging pollution [18].

By examining the results of current research and the legislative experience of developed countries, in this study, we found that Western countries have already constructively explored this issue, but in China, in-depth root cause analysis and comprehensive governance countermeasures have rarely been examined. Based on the theory of externality, in this paper, we discuss a comprehensive number of solutions to the excessive consumption of packaging materials for online sales and the associated pollution in China. The results of this research support the necessity of giving full play to the joint efforts of the government, enterprises, society, and individuals to provide a basis for the green development of e-commerce and environmental governance in China. This research could be used a useful reference in this field of study.

3. Data Sources and Research Methods

3.1. Data Source

The data used in this study are mainly the data released by Internet information platforms such as Web of Science, CNKI, Baidu, and DCCI. For example, all of the academic literature was obtained from Web of Science and China Knowledge Network (CNKI). Relevant data were obtained from statistics released by official Chinese institutions, such as the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The legal provisions of developed countries were determined from Baidu Search. Relevant secondary data were obtained from the market research of the research team, such as interviews of logistics enterprises in the transport sector.

3.2. Research Method

This research was mainly based on a literature analysis, investigation and research, comparative research, induction, and a summary. In this study, we began by examining the literature regarding the composition of packaging materials, packaging logistics and transportation, packaging material pollution, and the packaging recycling classification management of online goods. Through the literature review, we were able to understand current research progress and deficiencies in environmental-protection-related aspects of packaging of products bought online, which is conducive to performing better research and referencing, compensating for deficiencies, and promoting the theoretical research progress in this field. Second, in terms of the issues related to environmental pollution caused by packaging material consumption, developed countries have accumulated much experience, especially in legislation and system construction. Therefore, the use of a comparative research method enabled Chinese scholars to understand the governance experience of developed countries and the development of research.

In this research, we firstly analyzed the current research situation and the development of online commodity packaging consumption and pollution through a literature review. We analyzed the type and structure of packaging material consumption and the urgency with which pollution needs to be controlled. Secondly, we analyzed the causes of the excessive consumption of packaging materials for online merchandising and the associated pollution and the governance-related problems. Finally, in this study, we drew upon the experience and practices of developed countries and put forward governance-related suggestions from the definition of property rights, financial subsidies, tax preferences, the optimization of logistics and transportation systems, improvements in community waste classification, and strengthening the concept of environmental protection and scientific innovation regarding environmental protection.

4. Current Situation and Urgency of Controlling the Packaging Pollution of Online Commodities

In 2020, “Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Standardization of Express Green Packaging”, which was jointly issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation and eight other departments, stated: “China’s express delivery industry consumes more than 9 million tons of paper waste and about 1.8 million plastic waste every year, and shows a rapid growth trend, the impact on the environment cannot be ignored”. According to statistics from relevant departments, among the 200 million tons of domestic waste produced in China annually, about 40 million tons is packaging waste. With the further increase in the scale of online shopping and takeaway industries, online sales of packaging materials will not only cause many resources to be wasted but will also increase environmental pressure and lead to an ecological crisis.

4.1. Consumption, Type, and Structure of Packaging Materials for Online Sales

The packaging materials used in express logistics and transportation are often divided into seven categories: waybill, envelope, carton, plastic bag, woven bag, tape, and buffer. The materials used in express packaging can be classified into paper packaging, plastic packaging, wooden packaging, and other materials. Paper packaging mainly includes corrugated boxes, express freights, paper bags, etc.; plastic packaging generally includes polythene plastic bags, bubble airbag buffers, etc.; wooden packaging, generally as wood-based panels, is mainly used to protect glassware in transportation. Taking cartons and plastic bags as examples, the use of cartons accounts for about 50% of the total packaging in the express delivery business, and plastic bags account for about 40%. Objectively, it is difficult to separate cartons from plastic, which increases the cost of recycling [19] and causes a huge waste of resources.

The packaging survey and analysis report of the food delivery industry released by the State Post Bureau reveals something dismaying. It shows that 20 million tons of packaging is estimated to be used daily. As shown in the output relationship between packaging and raw materials, it is estimated that the average daily consumption of wood in the food delivery industry is about 4000 trees, and 76 million tons of petrol oil are used. With world’s largest market in food delivery, China generated 17 billion orders in 2020, with a total of 500 million consumers. 6. The take-out market is becoming the largest in terms of material consumption; take-out food orders consist of three packaging products: food containers, cutlery, and bags. Each take-out order contains an average of 3.44 food containers, and of these food containers, nearly 70% are plastic food containers, with an average weight of 24 g. In addition, 90% of orders contain one plastic bag with an average weight of 5 g [20]. When products are being loaded and unloaded by logistics companies, plastic products such as bubble film and air column bags are usually used as buffer materials for shock absorption to prevent goods being damaged. At the same time, when packaging and internal fillers are applied, a large amount of tape is used to plastic-encapsulate the outer packaging. Excessive packaging makes the waste of resources more serious.

The manufacturing process for logistics packaging materials involves the consumption of various resources such as oil, wood, and water. With the continuous growth of logistics orders, the absolute amount of resources consumed in the creation of packaging materials will be further increased, putting enormous pressure on environmental governance and the conservation of non-renewable resource requirements.

4.2. The Urgency of Adjusting the Consumption of Packaging and Controlling Pollution Caused by Online Commodities

(1) Online sales of commodities consume a large amount of packaging resources, causing problems in terms of sustainable development and environmental pollution.

In 2021, 100 billion deliveries were made in China’s express delivery business; plastic packaging pollution in the express delivery industry must, therefore, be reduced imminently. Pollution caused by packaging material waste has become the fourth largest source of pollution after water pollution [21,22], ocean and lake pollution, and air pollution [23]. The irregular production and use of plastic products waste a serious amount of energy and cause environmental pollution.

At present, logistics packaging materials mainly include plastic products and paper products. Although paper packaging materials do not directly cause environmental pollution, paper products are fragile, meaning it is difficult to reuse paper packaging, and the production of paper products requires wood, which is not conducive to the rational use of resources and the preservation of the ecological environment. Plastic pollution is a well-known challenge for humankind [24]. Nearly 40% of the world’s plastic is used in packaging. However, the recycling rate is only 9% [25,26]. The plastic materials in express packaging, mainly including polythene plastic bags, air bubble buffers, etc., account for about 10% of all express packaging materials. Nearly 80% of take-out packaging is made of plastic products, and the rest is paper products or wooden chopsticks. The increasingly serious level of pollution caused by take-out packaging has made the take-out industry a key area of plastic pollution in China. These plastic packages are mainly polyethylene (polythene), a polymer compound formed by the addition and polymerization of ethylene. Polythene itself is non-toxic and harmless. However, toxic additives must be added in the production process of plastic bags. There are potential environmental pollution problems associated with this process. Plastic packaging products will eventually decompose into microplastics with small particle sizes and enter the environment, causing environmental pollution and ecological health risks.

There are pollution emissions in the entire industrial chain of the production process of packaging products, including industrial and municipal wastewater discharge [27] or flue gas emissions in the manufacturing stage and incineration flue gas emissions or landfill leachate emissions in the waste disposal stage, which will lead to water pollution and air pollution [20]. Currently, China uses incineration and landfill methods to dispose of garbage. However, the incineration of plastic releases many carcinogenic substances and particles such as dioxins, which degrade the air quality. At the same time, plastic takes a long time to naturally degrade in landfills and also causes pollution to soil and groundwater [16].

(2) Ecological damage is difficult to reverse in the short term, and governance is long-term, complex, and costly.

Ecological damage, and environmental pollution have long-term consequences, and the governance countermeasures are long-term, complex, and costly [28,29,30,31]. Therefore, in terms of environmental protection, the protection of the ecological environment and preventive relief are urgently needed.

“Lucid waters and lush mountains” are public ecological products and generally aid people’s well-being. They could enable sustainable development and rejuvenation in China. The Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China used the “five-in-one” layout for ecological civilization, which is a socialist construction with Chinese characteristics. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized the need to “form a spatial pattern, industrial structure, production mode, and way of life that save resources and protect the environment”. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always attached great importance to ecological and environmental protection and has carried out a series of fundamental, pioneering, and long-term studies. Major steps have been taken to enable China to be beautiful, and overall, historic changes have been made to ecological and environmental protection.

To uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the basic strategy of harmonious coexistence between man and nature should be adhered to. With the development of the economy and society and the rapid rise in emerging industries, new requirements have been proposed for ecological and environmental protection. For the benefit of the entire society, high-quality economic development and the high-level governance of resources and the environment must urgently be achieved.

5. Causes and Governance-Related Problems in Excessive Consumption of Packaging Materials for Online Sales and Related Pollution

5.1. The Definition of Property Rights Is Not Clear

The Coase theorem shows that, as long as property rights are clear and the transaction cost is minimal, no matter who the initial property rights are assigned to, the final result of market equilibrium will be efficient; that is, the Pareto efficiency of resource allocation can be achieved [32]. If the transaction cost is high, the definition of property rights in different subjects will affect the efficiency of resource allocation. Therefore, a clear definition of property rights is the basis for solving externality problems. Unlike general property issues, environmental issues are non-exclusive and less competitive, similar to public goods. There are certain difficulties in defining property rights; it is difficult to solve related problems by relying on market mechanisms alone, and eventually, market inefficiency occurs. Property rights also cause major difficulties in environmental pollution control.

According to the theory of “tragedy of the commons”, on public land, all polluters have the right to use the land and have the right to discharge pollution arbitrarily, and no one has the right to claim the residual value of the land. Thus, no-one has the incentive to control pollution [33]. If each enterprise has the right to use environmental resources and others have no right to interfere, then an enterprise will tend to use more public resources because the private cost is lower than the social cost; enterprises prefer to reduce the costs of their products, regardless of other considerations. The social costs of exploiting resources and the environment require making behavioral choices based on accountability and benefits. However, pushing the responsibility of governance to society may result in the excessive use of resources and the pollution of the environment [14]. Therefore, property rights need to be defined. If the transaction cost is not zero, depending on which party has the rights, the effects of resource allocation will be very different.

5.2. Online Sales and Logistics Enterprises Maximize Their Interests, Making the Usage and Structure of Packaging Materials Unreasonable

The maximization of enterprises’ interests is mainly reflected in the use of low-cost and high-polluting materials and less use of recycled and degradable materials. Three types of raw materials are usually used to make express plastic packaging bags: recycled materials, new materials, and environmentally friendly materials. Environmentally friendly materials have the lowest pollution level but the highest cost, and recycled materials have the lowest cost but the highest pollution level. The use of packaging materials with the lowest costs results in excessive usage and structure, which is a direct cause of resource waste and environmental pollution and has become a major problem in the treatment process.

Due to the current vicious competition in logistics transportation prices, logistics companies mainly choose cheap packaging materials to reduce costs and increase profits. It is understood that the price of degradable packaging bags used by logistics companies is 4–5 times that of non-degradable packaging bags. The courier company allocates “points” for each piece, and the use of packaging bags with high degradation rates will increase the cost of each piece by CNY 0.1 to 0.5. For logistics enterprises, this will undoubtedly increase the competitive risk of promoting the use of environmentally friendly packaging materials. Without mandatory regulations, enterprises cannot pay for expensive, environmentally friendly materials. Online sales e-commerce companies represented by the takeaway industry reduce costs, increase profits based on maximizing their own interests, and use cheaper recycled materials, resulting in an unreasonable allocation of resources. Even if the environmental protection costs are passed on to consumers and they use environmentally friendly packaging materials, in the context of fierce industry competition, online operators will not do so based on market share considerations.

5.3. Negative Externalities of Production and Consumption

The negative externalities of consumption refer to the damage or costs caused to others by individual residents and their families during or after the consumption process. E-commerce is significantly affecting our shopping behavior. According to 2017 survey data from the United Parcel Service, 43% of the shopping activity of American residents is completely online [34]. Online shopping encourages over-packaged face consumption and irrational behaviors, such as overdraft shopping, hoarding, etc. Irrational consumption has become a direct cause of consumption pollution. Irrational online shopping distorts the actual needs of consumers, causing the excessive consumption of resources and serious environmental damage, making the market more inefficient, and causing the problem of negative consumption externalities to become more serious.

The negative externalities of production are the costs incurred by producers in the production process but often passed on to other subjects without compensation. Due to the large market demand for inexpensive recycled materials and low production costs, packaging material manufacturers will use many recycled materials recovered from chemical, medical, and domestic waste to manufacture express packaging. The use of recycled materials to produce express packaging is illegal. However, raw waste materials are not obvious, and non-compliant recycled materials have become a fundamental source of “poisonous” express bags. One of the core stakeholder groups in the pollution control of online commodity packaging is the production sector for packaging pollution materials. Production enterprises have short-term behaviors based on the consideration of production costs and market expansion. Under cost constraints, market influence, and unclear property rights, such short-term behaviors—on the one hand—satisfy the enterprise’s own pursuit of maximizing benefits, but on the other hand, they also cause a huge level of waste in terms of non-renewable resources and serious damage to the environment, which is in serious contradiction with the effective long-term utilization of resources and the sustainable development of the environment; this will inevitably cause losses in welfare to society as a whole [35]. The negative externalities of production caused by these short-term behaviors of enterprises are more serious than the negative externalities of consumption. However, packaging material manufacturers have higher costs and lower profits when producing environmentally friendly materials. In addition, government financial subsidies, tax measures, and legal regulations are not perfect. Reliance on the voluntary actions of enterprises cannot meet the actual needs of society and leads to enterprises in the market abandoning green production strategies due to competition.

5.4. Realistic Considerations for Logistics Companies to Reduce Damages

Article 832 of the (Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China) stipulates that the carrier shall be liable for the damage or loss of the goods during transportation, except in special circumstances. The (Measures for the Administration of the Express Market) also stipulates that in the process of express delivery services, if the express (mail) is delayed, lost, damaged, or inconsistent with the contents, the enterprise operating the express business shall make compensation according to the agreement with the user according to the law. There are also many industry laws and regulations at the national level. Briefly, according to the current laws and regulations, logistics enterprises are liable for product damage during express delivery. Therefore, to reduce damage, the most effective measure for logistics enterprises is to ensure the stricter packaging of goods, which also exacerbates the problem of excessive packaging in the logistics industry.

For logistics companies, the lower the cost of packaging materials, the better, but logistics companies also need to consider the safety of goods. This is because, if goods are damaged in the transportation process, the logistics enterprise has to bear liability for the damages. Therefore, the logistics enterprise would rather use several layers of packaging to prevent breakages in transportation, since they are responsible for consumers receiving undamaged goods. Therefore, it has become difficult to achieve a balance between “packaging costs required for transportation” and “damage costs”, which must be rectified in the e-commerce industry.

6. Countermeasures to Reduce the Consumption of Packaging Materials from Online Sales and to Control Pollution

6.1. Improve Legal Norms and Clarify Property Rights Distribution

According to the Coase theorem, when property rights are clear and transaction costs are zero or very small, free market competition can achieve Pareto optimal resource allocation. When transaction costs are very high, policy tools such as laws are needed to define property rights. Clearly defined property rights are the fundamental solution to the problem of negative externalities. The most direct and effective way to define property rights is to rely on government legal norms. When the transaction cost is not zero, the power definition should consider the optimal allocation of resources, that is, which side of the property rights definition can achieve the lowest total cost, including transaction cost. As the cost of defining environmental property rights is usually relatively high, the private property rights system is inefficient for this purpose; it is equally inefficient to rely on the voluntary action of polluters (enterprises and individuals) to reduce pollution. The solution is to define the relevant natural resources as publicly owned and then carry out unified supervision by the government. The government conducts unified management by formulating environmental protection regulations, setting up environmental protection agencies, and supervising each polluter’s behavior in terms of their role in polluting the environment, such as pollutant discharge. This may be more efficient than private ownership [33]. In the context of this article, consumers are also polluters, because consumers can choose to consume locally to reduce the consumption of express packaging materials. Still, it is neither realistic nor necessary to define the duty of being pollution-free to consumers, because the law cannot force consumers to not shop online. In addition, it is also unreasonable to define duties for non-pollution to the non-polluting platform companies. Under the current environmental protection regime, the principle of environmental law is that the polluter will bear the responsibility, and online shopping platforms are not polluters. Out-of-package management regulations are even more unrealistic. Therefore, the emphasis in the distribution of property rights should be the duty of enterprises to avoid pollution, while the public has the right to be free from pollution.

By promulgating laws and regulations, the government can improve the relevant legal standard system for the prevention and control of pollution by production enterprises, regulate the production behavior of enterprises, and promote the control of environmental pollution. Nationally mandatory means, such as laws to stipulate that enterprises adhere to clean production in the production process of packaging materials and realize the coordination and consideration of enterprise economic interests and social interests in the selection of raw materials, product design, recycling, and other process technologies, can be used. Enterprises must also change their management modes, optimize the manufacturing process, form a set of effective green management modes, and stipulate the quantity and method of production allowed to enterprises, in order to avoid negative externalities, through use of national mandatory standards. In addition, definition of enterprises’ rights and duties in relation to pollution is also conducive to reducing the total social cost. Finally, because the public enjoys the right to non-pollution, when the public has the right to request compensation from the production companies for infringements. Production companies must make technological innovations to reduce pollution or continue to pay penalties for pollution, under the constraint of maximizing profits. This system compensates for damage to public rights.

6.2. Improve the Financial Subsidy Mechanism for Environmentally Friendly Material Production Enterprises

Environmentally friendly materials are generally degradable, recyclable, and recycled. The ecological innovation of such ‘green’ packaging materials has a positive externality of environmental protection; however, production enterprises lack the motivation to innovate actively. The usual way to solve the problem of internalizing the social benefits of positive external investment is for the government to provide subsidies for production enterprises and to encourage production enterprises to develop environmentally friendly and recyclable packaging materials as much as possible and to carry out technological innovation and use. The use of this method has increased. On the other hand, the enthusiasm and initiative of enterprise research and development staff internalize social benefits to a certain extent.

Environmentally friendly packaging products must go through the complete cycle of material research and development, production, use, recycling, and reuse. In this article, we only discuss the financial subsidy mechanism for the three stages of R&D, recycling and reuse. The research and development stage usually requires a large amount of capital investment. The lack of internal funds and financing constraints will become important obstacles to the research and development for ecological innovation [36]. Financial subsidies to enterprises in the R&D stage of environmentally friendly materials can most directly reduce financing constraints. In addition, due to the positive externalities in the R&D of environmentally friendly materials, market prices cannot fully reflect the real costs of enterprises, and financial subsidies make up for enterprises’ efforts to reduce emissions. The extra cost paid significantly incentivizes the promotion of the innovation of environmentally friendly materials in enterprises [37]. The state directs corporate innovation to develop cleaner inputs through subsidies, achieving sustainable growth. In addition to direct cash subsidies, the government can take the lead in setting up a joint R&D center to work with companies to solve problems and improve innovation efficiency. The R&D stage can also rely on government-funded platform laboratories to save costs. Therefore, financial subsidies in the R&D stage should be high-intensity and diversified. Recycling packaging materials also has a strong positive externality effect, and it is not easy to achieve by relying on market mechanisms alone. Whether in the United States, Germany, or Japan, the government plays an important role in the plastic recycling system, and the management of express packaging recycling is to a large extent thanks to meticulous legal norms.

For example, Germany’s (Packaging Waste Management Law) stipulates the extended producer responsibility system, and the production enterprise is responsible for the waste generated after the material reaches the end of its service life; the enterprise should bear the recycling cost by itself [38]. However, due to considerations of cost and benefit, it is difficult for production enterprises to take the initiative to take responsibility for recycling. In addition to establishing a mandatory recycling system, the government must also have a clear subsidy mechanism to compensate for the profit spillover caused by the external economy of production enterprises. Financial subsidies in the recycling stage need to be refined and quantified, and even regional differences must be reflected. In the initial stage, the government can invest in the construction of infrastructure for recycling packaging materials, such as recycling bins and recycling stations, and increase the net income of corporate recycling. The government can also establish a comprehensive recycling plan to reward points, which can be used for tax deductions to mobilize enterprises’ enthusiasm for participation. The financial subsidy in the reprocessing stage should be adjusted to support improvement of protection equipment and environmental protection processes. Japan’s fiscal and taxation policies in environmental governance have achieved remarkable results. The Japanese government subsidizes small- and medium-sized enterprises to lease low-carbon and environmentally friendly machinery and equipment. To promote low-carbon waste treatment, it provides subsidies to private enterprises, e.g., for using waste to generate electricity. For high-energy-consuming and high-polluting industries, the government provides waste-related equipment subsidies and energy-saving subsidies [39]. Based on Japan’s subsidy idea, the Chinese government could provide financial subsidies to packaging material enterprises for the purchase of new equipment and to scrap original equipment for recycling and reprocessing waste. The resulting loans would provide credit guarantees.

6.3. Rational Use of Differential Tax Rates to Adjust the Structure of Packaging Products

Another typical method used to correct externalities is taxation. Taxation policies are more targeted than fiscal subsidy policies. They can promote enterprise innovation in the R&D and production stages and product innovation to improve product recyclability and recycling methods [40]. According to the principle of “who pollutes, who controls”, polluters are taxed to improve the environment. Full play is given to the positive role of tax policies in promoting plastic pollution control, tax policies are used to guide enterprises to carry out green plastic production, and plastic production enterprises are encouraged to adopt more advanced technologies and cleaner production processes, which guide the rational use of packaging materials for online shopping and vigorously promote biodegradable products. Plastic products and recyclable packaging truly realize recycling and environmental protection in the plastic industry.

Countries worldwide have carried out useful explorations regarding tax policy. Israel imposed a tax on the manufacture or import of plastic tableware from January 2022. In April 2022, the United Kingdom imposed a new tax on manufacture or import of plastic packaging with less than 30% renewable material content. The state has increasingly attempted to promote the governance of plastic materials through taxation. Japan began to encourage the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries through tax policies as early as in the 1970s. In 1978, Japan established a tax system to promote investment, and within the applicable period, loans equivalent to 10% of the purchased equipment were allowed to be deducted as tax. In 1979, an investment tax system to promote industrial transformation was also established, and 10% of the purchase price was deducted for the target equipment purchased during the applicable period [41]. In this way, enterprises are encouraged to introduce energy-saving technologies and equipment. Through these laws and regulations, Japan has made world-leading achievements in terms of energy conservation, new energy promotion, and technology popularization, and has built a unique model of co-governance in the energy transition society [39]. Environmentally friendly packaging materials undergo complex processes and have high technical content. Thus, to meet the safety needs of products in long-distance distribution, enterprises need to purchase special equipment, which is costly. Therefore, tax deductions inspired by the practice of Japan can be implemented according to a certain proportion. Production enterprises with strong innovation ability can be identified as high-tech enterprises and benefit from local preferential tax policies.

On the other hand, with the rapid development of e-commerce, the demand for online shopping packaging is extreme, and the price of degradable packaging products may benefit from tax reduction. Tax relief is recommended to be given to enterprises that produce degradable plastic packaging and encourage the use of degradable plastic packaging. Tax relief is widely used in e-commerce logistics and transportation. For the value-added input tax generated by the purchase of degradable plastics by enterprises, based on the current full deduction, an additional deduction of 15% is allowed. Finally, the tax policy should also mobilize the enthusiasm of production enterprises to actively recycle and dispose of plastic waste, and preferential tax policies should be studied and formulated for products produced with plastic waste as raw materials, thereby reducing the cost of recycling and processing plastic waste for production enterprises. In the early stage of the development of emerging industries, the Japanese government formulated a tax exemption system for important products to support the industry’s development. Through this system, Japan supported the development of energy-saving automobiles and computer industries. In 1998 and 2011, the Japanese government also formulated the “Energy Supply Structure Reform Investment Promotion Tax System” and the “Green Investment Tax Reduction System” to provide tax relief for enterprises engaged in the development and utilization of new energy [39]. China should learn from Japan’s experience in tax policy, rationally use differential tax rates to support the research and development of new materials and new technologies, encourage enterprises to actively participate in environmental protection and governance, give full play to the effect of tax policies, and coordinate the support that different tax policies will provide in order to strengthen the government’s guidance on environmental governance.

Unlike the packaging of products bought in person, the packaging of products bought online requires not only outer packaging such as cartons or plastic bags, but also fillers such as inflatable packaging films, bubble pads, air column buffer bags, and sealing tapes. Prompt identification information should be provided regarding these materials, e.g., how they are used according to the packaging specifications, including the product size, extrusion resistance, brittleness, etc., to avoid excessive packaging or improper packaging. Testing the performance of packaging materials, and even testing of enterprises could contribute to progress in this regard. Therefore, enterprises that meet the conditions for R&D expenses should also directly deduct the payable tax.

6.4. Optimizing the Logistics and Transportation System of Express Delivery Companies

An important reason for the excessive consumption of packaging materials for products bought online is to prevent damage caused by loading and unloading and heavy-handed sorting carried out by logistics and transportation companies. In 2021, the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China promulgated the (Administrative Measures for the Packaging of Mail and Express Mail), in which Article 25 stipulates that the delivery company shall follow the principles of environmental protection and economy. According to the nature, size, and weight of the contents of the mail and express mail, proper packaging operations should be carried out to prevent excessive packaging, which will ensure that not too much tape is used and minimize the number of packaging layers, void ratios, and fillers. Article 26 stipulates that delivery companies should standardize operations, carry out civilized operations, and avoid throwing packages, trampling on them, and placing them on the ground to prevent damage to the packaging. In addition, (Express Business Operation Guidelines) and (Mail Express Packaging Management Measures) also have clear regulations. However, the current situation does not give cause for optimism.

It would be difficult to completely rely on the government and the market to solve the excessive packaging of goods caused by uncivilized and non-standardized operations of express delivery companies. Putnam believes that governance externalities can be achieved through social capital mechanisms, and social subjects’ social behavior can be regulated by developing “informal institutions” and social operation mechanisms in social fields such as morality, trust, relationships, and public opinion. The complexities and ambiguities in social life require the use of flexible and community-based social mechanisms such as morality, public opinion, and trust to effectively resolve problems such as externalities, coordination costs, and information asymmetry [42]. How do express companies optimize the logistics and transportation system? There is no shortage of policies and regulations to standardize sorting; however, in reality, these standards are difficult to implement. Government failure and market failure are real dilemmas. Therefore, the behavior of express delivery companies (employees) should be adjusted using “informal systems” such as morality and trust. The logistics industry should improve the education and training systems for express delivery front-line personnel, improve working conditions, increase work income, reduce employee turnover, etc., and guide and educate front-line employees to provide quality services with compassion.

Over-packaging is still required in transportation. Although recycling express packaging materials is a feasible way to reduce resource consumption and environmental pollution and it can be achieved technically, it requires a certain economic cost. The establishment of regional logistics warehousing would be beneficial. By establishing logistics warehousing in a certain area, most goods can be shipped over short distances, reducing long-distance transportation, reducing the damage rate of goods, and finally realizing simplified packaging for express delivery, saving resources and reducing pollution.

6.5. Improve the Community Garbage Classification, Recycling, and Disposal System, and Advocate Rational Online Shopping and Local Consumption of Residents

Improving the community garbage classification, recycling, and disposal system and encouraging and guiding residents to classify and recycle commodity packaging is a countermeasure against the consumption of packaging and the associated pollution. Germany’s packaging regulations have achieved good results in limiting excessive packaging. During 1992 and 1993, the amount of packaging materials decreased by 500,000 tons, and the number of packages per capita decreased by 15 kg [43]. Online shopping breaks the time and space limitations of traditional shopping methods, bringing consumers a sense of psychological satisfaction and superiority, but it also creates irrational consumption. E-commerce’s overwhelming advertising, low-price promotions, and artificial “festival” activities also induce consumers to overconsume to a certain extent. To reduce the negative externalities of consumption, in addition to properly regulating e-commerce advertisements, regulators and industries need to cultivate consumers’ civic awareness through civic education [44]. In 1994, France issued the Packaging Waste Transportation Law, which clearly stipulated that citizen, as consumers, have the obligation to voluntarily hand over discarded packaging materials to manufacturers or retailers for recycling. The result of this is that since 1994, France has maintained a low amount of packaging waste annually, reducing environmental pressure and saving resources.

Guiding residents to consume rationally is a feasible strategy to alleviate the pollution caused by the packaging of products bought online. In daily online shopping, it is necessary to consider the environmental carrying capacity of ecological resources, following the concepts of moderate consumption, civilized consumption, and green consumption. Some returned products directly become online shopping waste. Rational online shopping habits can be guided by the government and society’s publicity and guidance to establish a sustainable consumption model, which can not only meet people’s life and spiritual needs, but also realize the integration of ecological resources and sustainable economic and social development. Research in the UK has shown that online shopping can reduce carbon emissions, but only if consumers collect goods from nearby brick-and-mortar stores. This model, similar to in-place consumption, should become the future development direction of e-commerce. To minimize the pollution caused by online shopping, consumers should only shop online if online shopping would replace the use of various transportation methods to travel to a shopping destination. Consumers should purchase multiple items on the same website at the same time, bundling these commodities together and reducing the resource consumption of packaging materials, thereby minimizing the environmental impact [6].

How can we guide residents who “shop online” to minimize the negative externalities created by online shopping consumption? In addition to the warehousing model mentioned above, intra-city express delivery should become the future layout template of e-commerce companies. The e-commerce shopping platform can gradually develop domestic express delivery into intra-city express delivery; reduce long-distance transportation; transfer center distribution, sorting, bag collection, re-sorting, and re-collection; and reduce the loss of express delivery in the continuous sorting process. Reversely, this will push merchants and logistics companies to reduce packaging material consumption and avoid excessive packaging because, in most cases, reducing packaging is more effective than material substitution.

7. The Value and Limitation of the Achievements and the Prospects of Future Research

7.1. Research Results

The rapid development of e-commerce has intensified the resource consumption of packaging materials for online sales of goods, which has caused external problems such as environmental pollution to become prominent. In this paper, we analyzed the external problems associated with the consumption of materials used to package products bought online and associated pollution control. We proposed countermeasures to solve the current problems from five perspectives: perfecting legal norms, clarifying property rights distribution, taxation, optimizing logistics and transportation systems, and consumption guidance. Multi-agent collaborative governance may be considered an important way to solve the problems associated with packaging material consumption and pollution control when selling commodities online in China.

7.2. Theoretical Contribution and Practical Value

First, the pollution control of online commodity packaging materials is the focus of the coordinated and sustainable development of the economy and environment in the era of platform economy. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping has become a safer and more popular choice. Based on the externality theory, in this research, we deeply analyzed the current situation regarding pollution caused by the packaging of online goods in China, the urgency of governance, and the causes of excessive materials consumption, as well as the pollution caused by packaging materials; this enriches the existing research regarding environmental governance in online shopping and provides a new perspective for environmental protection and governance.

Second, the externalities of consumption inevitably need to be reduced to achieve the sustainability of consumption and for the development of the ecological environment. In the era of the platform economy, sustainable online shopping consumption should receive more attention. In this study, we focused on controlling the pollution caused by packaging materials used in online sales of commodities in China, a huge consumer market, in order to meet the environmental governance requirements of the Chinese government for “carbon peak, carbon neutral”. The study also enriches the existing research regarding sustainable consumption in the era of the network economy, providing a direction for the promotion of sustainable consumption.

7.3. Research Limitations and Future Prospects

Several issues still need to be considered further. Firstly, both financial subsidies and tax policies can control externalities; however, it is difficult to eliminate them [45], and the solution of externalities should rely on legal and technological progress. Secondly, an environment with zero negative externalities is not feasible or sustainable. In the present era and future of e-commerce, the consumption and pollution caused by commodity packaging brought about by online consumption is a problem that cannot be completely avoided. Therefore, it is very important to find a balanced state. Thirdly, economic transformation, development, technological progress, and changes will create new externalities that need to be fully considered in resource utilization and ecological protection. Therefore, future research can be carried out on this basis. In addition, a detailed survey of multiple subjects could be conducted through questionnaires to collect first-hand data and conduct a relevant empirical causal analysis.