MANILA, Philippines—It’s not an exaggeration to say that the pandemic has ushered in a humanity completely reliant of delivery services, whether it be from online shopping, or simply to get packages delivered from one place to another in a matter of hours. While this opens a whole new world of convenience for us all, the sad reality is that it also adds in mountains of plastic waste that’s never to be used again.

In an effort to curb our ever-growing piles of waste, several businesses have opened completely dedicated to radicalizing our country’s delivery culture. These services also aim to promote a more sustainable system that could hopefully cut down our excessive use of plastic.

From couriers to online stores, here’s a list of some of our favorites that are sure to help make your personal deliveries and business operations a lot more eco-friendly green.

Fifth Express

If you’re selling pre-loved items online and need to deliver small packages around Metro Manila, or if you’re a big business looking for a delivery partner for all your sales, Fifth Express is a great alternative to the usual couriers we have.

All you have to do is create a free account on their website, book a pick-up (minimum of two parcels), receive your compostable parcels from the delivery riders, prep your package, and track your packages online through your own waybill. No need to print on paper.

The parcel will be received the next day after you create the waybill. The compostable packaging Fifth Express uses is biodegradable (breaks down within 6 months), organic, and leaves no toxic residue behind.

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Blitz Delivery

If you have your own recycled packaging and want to support a nationwide network of eco-friendly logistics, Blitz Delivery is the way to go. Similar to Fifth Express, the whole process is done online pre-pickup from your location, or drop off at the hubs.

Just create a free account, choose a service type (Next Day, 2-3 Days, or 3-5 Days), select pickup address, encode recipient info and address, and parcel dimensions, and submit booking. Payments are made digitally, and will be credited to your account’s wallet automatically after item pick up.

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EcoNest Philippines

This one’s for all the businesses out there in search of sustainable packaging for their own items. From compostable food/drink containers, to plant-based mailer bags, you can create a completely eco-friendly logistics system with EcoNest‘s items.

Just order them online, and you’re good to go. EcoNest uses their own in-house riders and plans out delivery routes accordingly to minimize carbon footprint, and they also welcome pick-ups by customers.

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JuanBag

For all the plastics we’ve accumulated (and are sure to receive in the future) from all the online shopping we do, JuanBag is a service in its early days, looking to recycle and reduce single-use plastic around the Metro.

A few months ago, the team has issued a “Plastic Collection” drive to pick up used plastic packaging from booked partners, hoping to recycle them into creating their own (hopefully eco-friendlier) bags. Since its launch in March 2021, the initiative has received a lot of support, with JuanBag‘s bike-riding partners collecting an incredible amount of plastic around town.

To streamline its system and to partner with more riders, the team has temporarily postponed its collective drive. But it promises to come back with more services in the near future to rid us all of single-use plastic. So don’t throw yours away for now!

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It’s certainly a welcome change to get businesses to be more mindful of the plastics they contribute through their online deliveries. Now that there are alternatives to be more sustainable and eco-friendly, the responsibility then falls on us consumers to support these small initiatives, get big businesses to pay attention, and make sure these efforts don’t go to—pun intended—waste.