Deposit or reward: Express packaging recycling for online retailing platforms

To motivate consumers’ participation in recycling, we study two recycling policies for express packaging on an online retailing platform equipped with self-run logistics to collect express packaging from consumers. First, under the Deposit-Refund Policy (DRP), when consumers purchase from the platform, they pay a deposit for the express packaging, but the deposit will be refunded if they return the packaging to the platform. The other is the Recycling Reward Policy (RRP), under which the platform provides rewards when consumers return express packaging. The platform decides whether to recycle the express packaging and chooses the optimal recycling policy if recycling is economically feasible. To investigate, we first set up an optimization model to analyze these two recycling policies. Using the No Recycling Policy (NRP) as the benchmark, we then derive managerial insights through comparative analysis and numerical studies. Our results indicate that the consumers’ green consciousness plays a critical role in decision making. Specifically, NRP is optimal for the platform when the green consciousness level is low. As the consumers’ green consciousness level increases to a medium range, recycling becomes feasible and RRP is optimal. If the green consciousness level is high, DRP will be the optimal policy. These findings have helpful implications for corresponding decisionmakers (e.g., express industry managers, government departments) to cautiously judge whether to recycle express packaging and which recycling policy is best under different circumstances.