Amazon is switching its packaging material as a means of producing less waste with its widespread shipping and distribution of products, a move that reflects the backlash the corporation has received for contributing to environmental degradation.
The company announced on Thursday that it will be changing how it boxes packages, substituting plastic air pillows with recycled paper as a material to safeguard the products. It also said it’s already replaced 95% of the plastic air pillows with paper in North America.
Pat Lindner, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging at Amazon, reported the company aims to “fully remove” plastic air pillows in packages by the end of the year.
According to Amazon, this move is more eco-friendly and will provide just as much protection, “if not better.”
“We want to ensure that customers receive their items undamaged, while using as little packaging as possible to avoid waste, and prioritizing recyclable materials,” the company said in a statement.
The e-commerce giant alleges this switch is part of a several year plan to remove plastic delivery packaging from fulfillment centers in North America. It asserts that replacing the approximately 15 billion plastic air pillows used every year with recycled paper is the “largest reduction in plastic packaging in North America to date.”
While Amazon is taking a step in a more eco-friendly direction following years of criticism for producing excess waste, some environmental advocacy groups still argue the massive corporation could do more to reduce their output.
“While this is a significant step forward for the company, Amazon needs to build on this momentum and fulfill its multi-year commitment to transition its North America fulfillment centers away from plastic,” Matt Littlejohn, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at Oceana, an environmental nonprofit, said in a prepared statement to AP News. “Then, the company should expand these efforts and also push innovations like reusable packaging to move away from single-use packaging everywhere it sells and ships.”
According to Amazon, it has other ongoing efforts to reduce waste. These include a campaign to ship items without any additional packaging, using AI-powered robots to sort recyclables and collect data on recycling streams for companies, and partnering with the Department of Energy to create new materials and recycling programs.
