Afteryears ofpressurefrom environmental advocates , the global retail colossus Amazon announced last workweek that it has eliminated moldable air pillow from its global mesh of “ fulfillment centers , ” as Amazon calls its warehouse and dispersion installation . Around the humankind , products inside the company ’s parcel are now cushion by newspaper - based padding that can be collected in curbside recycling program .
“ We are committed to better how order are shipped , for the goodness of client and the major planet , ” Amazon wrote in ablog post .
The declaration symbolise the fulfilment of a promise Amazon made in June to mould “ toward full remotion ” of plastic air pillow from North America by the end of the year . At that time , the company said it had already replaced 95 pct of its tune pillows across the continent with paper makeweight . geezerhood before that , in 2021 , Amazoneliminated plastic air pillow in Australia , and in 2022 it did the same for order ship from itswarehouses in Europe .
Amazon is phasing out its single-use plastic air pillows.Imiage: Amazon
Oceana , a nonprofit ocean advocacy grouping , has dogged Amazon for several years over its use of plastics , largely through aseriesofreportsquantifyingthe company ’s overall credit card footprint and its donation to aquatic plastic pollution . Matt Littlejohn , Oceana ’s senior vice president for strategic initiative , said Amazon ’s announcement is “ really quite significant , ” even though the phaseout does n’t implement to orders shipped by third - party vendor . Amazon has n’t disclosed what fraction of its sales are carry out in that way . “ It ’s large news for the ocean and for the ball in general that the worldly concern ’s biggest einsteinium - commerce party did this , ” Littlejohn said .
Still , Amazon continue to utilize tens of one thousand of tons of plastic every twelvemonth in other contour of packaging — much of it thin , gauzy plastic used in delivery bags and padded mailers . Plastic pic is not only virtually unimaginable to recycle , but also themost unwashed form of plastic litter in coastal watersand themost deadly type of plasticto large nautical animals . Oceana and other environmental mathematical group say the company should tone up its plastic - step-down promise by setting deadlines to move by from all types of single - habit formative packaging , and scaling up reclaimable alternatives .
“ We want the company to make a commitment to do more , ” Littlejohn told Grist . He said Amazon ’s actions could work other turgid retailers to also reduce their plastics function .
Amazon’s plastic air cushions are now a thing of the plast. Image: Amazon.
Amazon is one of the largest troupe in the macrocosm , with anestimated value near $ 2 trillionand annual tax revenue above $ 600 billion . Itoperates in 21 countriesand ships to many more . In the U.S. , Amazon controlsnearly 40 percentof the atomic number 99 - commerce market .
So far , Amazon ’s greatest progression on plastic reduction has chance in international jurisdiction , potentially due to stronger regulation on single - employment plastics . The company ’s warehouses in India have beenplastic packaging - costless since 2020 , and its European distribution centersstopped using plastic delivery bags in 2022 . Those changes lead to a 9 pct ego - reported decline in global charge card use between 2022 and 2023 , according to an Amazon representative .
fictile decrease has been slower in the U.S. , perhaps because of the sheer size of its large market . Oceana has estimated that Amazon generated208 million pounds of plastic packaging trashin the United States in 2022 — about 10 percent more than the previous year — although this does n’t account for the fellowship ’s most late efforts to transition to paper . In its recent web log post , Amazon said it has now retrofit more than 120 automated packing automobile across the nation so they can make newspaper dish , rather than plastic ones .
Amazon also hinted in its2022 sustainability reportthat it was “ phasing out padded bags turn back plastics , ” presumptively referring to its omnipresent blue - and - white mailer . Littlejohn said Amazon should make this dedication more exact by clarifying its geographic scope and a timeline for accomplishing it .
The caller also said in itsmost recent sustainability reportthat it ’s “ working to reduce our employment of single - use charge card publicity in favor of house - recyclable alternative . ” Littlejohn say that the vehemence on curbside recycling — rather of specialization take - back programs at retail stores — is meaningful . presently , the company ’s blue - and - white mailer sport a label engineer client to “ put in drop - off ” recycling receptacle at locations like Kohl ’s , Safeway , and Stop & Shop . But investigating from the medium and environmental group have shown that credit card accumulate in these receptaclesis often charge to landfills and incinerators , rather than to a recycler . Plastic cinema that does get reprocessed is downgrade into nonrecyclable products like deck chairs .
In response to Grist ’s asking for remark , an Amazon representative bespeak to antecedently announced formative reduction cause , including the utter excretion of plastic promotion from two U.S. dispersion facility .
“ We recognize the importance of reducing single - employment plastic , in the U.S. and globally , but this ca n’t be done overnight , ” the spokesperson wrote in an e-mail . They went on to say that Amazon is “ obsessed with getting this rightfulness for customers , and we ’re incredibly majestic of the advance so far . ”
Amazon also said in its web log post from last calendar week that its first priority is “ to take promotional material altogether , ” meaning it tries to ship product in their original packaging rather than contribute Amazon - branded sleeves , bags , boxes , and cushioning . As of December of last yr , Amazon was transport one - third of its sales in North America without any additional publicity , and it said it would increase this fraction to two - third by December 2024 .
As You Sow is a non-profit-making shareholder advocacy formation that has filedseveral resolutionsat Amazon take the company to unwrap and bring down its plastic packaging footprint . Conrad MacKerron , the organization ’s elderly frailty president , noted that there are still plenty of opportunities alfresco of Amazon ’s e - Commerce Department business to cut down on unnecessary plastic packaging . For example , he said , Amazon sell many private - label solid food and drink product that are packed in flexible plastic , like bag of testicle and candy . These products contribute to pliant pollution , even if they ’re embark to buyers in a paper envelope .
Amazon also have Whole Foods , one of the largest foodstuff chains in the United States , where entire aisles of products are sold in flimsy plastic packaging that is virtually impossible to reprocess . Many of these products are sold under the Amazon - possess recording label 365 by Whole Foods Market . “ Unlike PET bottle , that flexile publicity can not be recycled really anywhere in the world at this point . All of that goes to the landfill , ” MacKerron said . He say he ’d like to see Amazon “ reevaluate ” its grocery stock charge card use , “ given that there ’s nothing on the horizon that ’s going to provide a recycling option ” for it .
This clause originally appeared inGrist . Grist is a nonprofit , autonomous media governing body dedicated to telling stories of clime solutions and a just hereafter . Learn more atGrist.org .
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