Amazon Eliminates Plastic Air Pillows Globally in Move Toward Sustainable Packaging

“We are committed to improving how orders are shipped, for the good of customers and the planet,” Amazon stated in a blog post.

This action fulfills Amazon’s June promise to phase out plastic air pillows in North America by year’s end, having already replaced 95% with paper filler. Previously, Amazon eliminated these plastics in Australia in 2021 and Europe in 2022.

Oceana, an ocean advocacy nonprofit, has long urged Amazon to reduce its plastic footprint. Matt Littlejohn, Oceana’s Senior Vice President, called the announcement “quite significant,” though he noted it doesn’t apply to third-party sellers’ orders. “It’s great news for the oceans and the globe that the world’s biggest e-commerce company did this,” he said.

Despite progress, Amazon still uses tens of thousands of tons of plastic annually in other packaging forms, notably thin plastic films in delivery bags and padded mailers. These materials are hard to recycle and are major pollutants in coastal waters, posing threats to marine life. Environmental groups urge Amazon to set clear deadlines to eliminate all single-use plastic packaging and adopt reusable alternatives.

Internationally, Amazon has made strides, possibly due to stricter regulations on single-use plastics. Its Indian operations have been plastic-free since 2020, and European centers stopped using plastic delivery bags in 2022, contributing to a 9% reduction in global plastic use between 2022 and 2023.

In the U.S., progress is slower, perhaps due to market size. Oceana estimated Amazon generated 208 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in the U.S. in 2022, 10% more than the previous year. Amazon is working to retrofit packing machines to produce paper bags and aims to ship two-thirds of North American orders without additional packaging by December 2024.

While Amazon’s steps are positive, environmental groups call for more. “We want the company to make a commitment to do more,” Littlejohn told Grist. Advocates hope Amazon’s actions will influence other major retailers to reduce plastic use, promoting a more sustainable future.

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