The company said its part of an effort to reduce plastic in the environment
of ConsumerAffairs
Amazon said it is in the process of replacing those clear plastic air pillows used to pad merchandise in shipping boxes in its effort to reduce single-use plastic.
The company said it has already eliminated 95% of the plastic padding and will eliminate it completely by the end of 2024 in North American shipments. It will replace the plastic with paper padding.
Amazon said the removal of plastic shipping padding is the companys largest plastic packaging reduction effort in North America, removing the use of nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows a year. During Julys Prime Day event, the company said nearly all of the shipments will not use plastic air pillows.
Im proud of the cross-Amazon collaboration to make a positive impact on the customer delivery experience with easier-to-recycle materials, said Pat Lindner, vice president of Mechatronics and Sustainable Packaging.
Full removal by years end
Its a great example of how we thoughtfully test and scale new solutions to protect our customer experience. We are working towards full removal in North America by end of year and will continue to innovate, test, and scale in order to prioritize curbside recyclable materials.
How well will paper padding protect merchandise? Amazon said it is confident that it will work just as well.
To make sure, the company hired a third-party engineer lab that confirmed paper padding offers the same, if not better, protection tthan plastic air pillows. The paper filler is also curbside recyclable, making it easier forcustomers to recycle at home, and made from 100% percent recycled content, the company said.
While plastic air pillows might be an effective way to protect shipments, single-use plastic is a growing environmental concern, especially since so much of the plastic ends up in the worlds oceans.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-06-21 10:59:20
