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In China, most packaging waste is sent to landfill, and Greenpeace estimates that only 20 percent of that packaging is recycled or reused.
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While China’s Singles Day lasts 24 hours, the environmental impact lasts for years. This year, the large shopping event is expected to handle more than one billion packages, most of which require boxes, packing tape and bubble wrap or other plastic packaging.
In China, most of that packaging waste is sent to landfill, and Greenpeace estimates that only 20 percent of that packaging is recycled or reused. Additionally, much of the packing tape that is sent to landfill takes approximately 100 years to break down and cardboard boxes with tape still on them are not able to be recycled.
CNNMoney has more:
Couriers and delivery firms will handle more than one billion packages from Singles Day, up 35% from last year, according to State Post Bureau estimates reported by state-run news agency Xinhua. Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao alone will deliver 657 million packages.
Shipping those orders requires boxes, packing tape, and bubble wrap or other plastic packaging. Roughly two million trees, or the equivalent in straw or waste paper, are needed to manufacture one billion cardboard boxes, according to a study on the environmental impact of China's online shopping boom.
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