Retail giant Suning has introduced reusable boxes for express deliveries in 13 cities ahead of this year's online shopping spree for Singles Day on Nov 11.

Instead of using cardboard boxes, couriers will send deliveries in collapsible plastic containers that can be kept and reused, Chongqing Morning Post reported.

Each plastic box costs 25 yuan and can be used more than 1,000 times, according to the company.

Suning forecasts more than 200,000 boxes will be used in 2018, mainly for the collection of 3C electronics (computer, communication and consumer), maternity and children's products, and fragile items.

Nationwide, 9.92 billion cardboard boxes, 8.27 billion plastic bags and 16.98 billion meters of packing tape were used in 2015, according to statistics from the State Post Bureau.

Last year, deliveries from online vendors soared, with express delivery services handling a record 312 billion parcels.

The success of China's e-commerce sector has given the economy a boost, but waste materials from packaging have added an environmental downside.

Xin Wen contributed to this story.