South Korea’s environment ministry said it has proposed revisions to packaging regulations for courier shipments, aiming to reduce waste from excessive packaging while easing compliance for businesses.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced it will accept public comments until 25 March on amendments to the “simplified measurement method for packaging materials and packaging methods of products,” which governs how companies assess packaging space and materials.
The government had initially planned to enforce standards on single-use transport packaging from 30 April 2024 to reduce packaging waste generated during parcel deliveries. However, authorities later introduced a two-year transition period after industry players raised concerns about practical difficulties in implementing the rules.
Under the proposed amendments, packaging used to protect products that are particularly vulnerable to shock would be exempt from the regulations if the use of such packaging is deemed unavoidable.
Small parcels must be at least 60cm to be packaged by machines, while companies that reduce the use of plastic packaging materials would be allowed greater flexibility in the packaging space ratio, a metric that measures the amount of empty space inside a package.
The proposed revisions come amid growing public concern over excessive packaging in the country’s rapidly expanding e-commerce and courier sector.
Environmental group Seoul Environmental Movement said it had identified 29 cases of excessive packaging from citizen reports collected over 36 days between January and February.
In one case, seven food and beverage products were individually wrapped and then delivered in four separate boxes. In another, a palm-sized cosmetic product arrived in a plastic bag large enough to cover an adult’s upper body. The group also reported products already contained in plastic containers being wrapped again in layers of air caps and cushioning materials.
Among the reported cases, about 76 per cent involved boxes significantly larger than the product itself, the group said. Around 31 per cent involved multiple identical items ordered together but shipped in separate boxes, while 20 percent involved excessive use of cushioning materials. Some products were also wrapped individually in additional plastic bags.
Different packages, different rules
The amendments also state that packaging standards will not apply when two or more products are shipped together or when packaging materials are reused. When paper cushioning materials are used instead of plastic, the allowable packaging space ratio would be set at 70 percent to account for the need for additional cushioning.
The current method for measuring packaging space ratios is based on paper boxes, which has led to inconsistencies when applied to plastic packaging. Under the proposed changes, the ministry plans to introduce a new calculation method that sets allowable product size ranges according to standardised packaging dimensions.
Products that are unusually long or flat would also be exempt from packaging space ratio rules, reflecting the logistical difficulty of preparing multiple types of packaging materials for such items.
“The revision reflects the need to ensure that regulations on excessive courier packaging can be realistically applied in the field,” said Kim Go-eung, director general of the ministry’s Resource Circulation Bureau, in a statement.
He added that authorities would continue to gather stakeholder feedback after the rules take effect and work with the industry to reduce waste generated from excessive packaging.
In a public survey conducted alongside the report by Seoul Environmental Movement, 65 per cent of respondents said delivery and distribution companies bore the greatest responsibility for excessive packaging.
Another 21 per cent blamed weak laws and regulations, while 7 per cent each cited insufficient government oversight and consumer habits that tolerate unnecessary packaging.
Some citizens who submitted reports said they had ordered four grocery and household items but received each product in a separate box. Others complained about the burden of disposing of large boxes or separating multiple layers of packaging materials.
Seoul Environmental Movement said the reports showed that excessive packaging had become an everyday environmental concern rather than a minor inconvenience.
