Amazon has made important progress in decreasing using plastic in its packaging by eliminating 95% of the inflated plastic air pillows used to cushion items being shipped to clients. The e-commerce big now largely makes use of recycled paper as a filler, marking its largest plastic packaging discount effort in North America. This transfer is anticipated to keep away from almost 15 billion plastic air pillows yearly. Amazon’s vice chairman of mechatronics and sustainable packaging, Pat Lindner, acknowledged that the corporate is working in the direction of full elimination of plastic packaging in North America by the top of the yr and can proceed to prioritize curbside recyclable supplies because it innovates, checks, and scales its packaging options.
The environmental nonprofit Oceana applauded Amazon’s initiative to cut back plastic packaging however urged the corporate to additional construct on this momentum and fulfill its dedication to transition its North America achievement facilities away from plastic. Oceana estimated in a report that Amazon produced 208 million kilos of plastic packaging within the U.S. in 2022, sufficient to circle the Earth greater than 200 instances if became air pillows. The plastic air pillows and bubblewrap plastic mailers utilized by Amazon are sometimes not allowed in curbside recycling, prompting the corporate to plan a transition to paper merchandise for these mailers sooner or later.
An unsuccessful shareholder proposal at Amazon’s annual assembly final month referred to as for the exploration of how to cut back the corporate’s plastic footprint. Regardless of this, Amazon reported a lower of 11.6% in single-use plastic supply packaging in 2022. A lot of the discount in plastic use got here from adjustments within the firm’s operations abroad, significantly in Europe the place Amazon changed single-use plastic packaging with 100% recyclable paper and cardboard choices in achievement facilities. The European Union’s initiatives to ban disposable plastics have performed a major function in these efforts, and Amazon has since introduced related initiatives to the U.S. with a achievement middle in Ohio changing into the primary facility to change to recyclable paper packaging in October 2023.
Amazon’s announcement to change to recycled paper in packaging in North America displays the corporate’s dedication to sustainability and decreasing its environmental affect. By eliminating plastic air pillows and transitioning to paper fillers, Amazon is taking a major step in the direction of decreasing plastic waste in its operations. The corporate’s continued deal with innovation, testing, and scaling of curbside recyclable supplies underscores its dedication to discovering eco-friendly packaging options. Partnering with environmental organizations like Oceana demonstrates Amazon’s willingness to have interaction with stakeholders and obtain suggestions on its sustainability efforts.
Whereas Amazon has made progress in decreasing plastic packaging, there may be nonetheless room for enchancment, as highlighted by Oceana’s name for the corporate to additional lower its plastic footprint and fulfill its dedication to transition away from plastic in North America. Amazon’s plans to switch bubblewrap plastic mailers with paper merchandise and the corporate’s current initiative to change to recyclable paper packaging in a achievement middle in Ohio point out a continued effort to prioritize sustainability in its operations. By taking proactive steps to cut back plastic waste and transition to extra eco-friendly packaging supplies, Amazon is setting an instance for different firms within the e-commerce trade to observe go well with and prioritize sustainability of their operations.