Amazon Announced Thursday The company said it will phase out air-filled packaging for deliveries in North America and use recycled paper stuffing instead, the shipping company’s latest move in its sustainability push.
The company says it has already removed 95 percent of its air pillow packaging in the region and hopes to have the rest removed by the end of the year.
Amazon has announced that it will eliminate approximately 15 billion plastic air pillows each year as part of “the largest plastic packaging reduction initiative in North America.”
“We’re proud of this collaboration between Amazon to positively impact the delivery experience for our customers using easily recyclable materials,” said Pat Lindner, Amazon’s vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging. “This is a great example of how we are thoughtfully testing and scaling new solutions to protect the customer experience.”
“We are working towards full removals in North America by the end of the year and will continue to innovate, test and scale to prioritize curbside recyclable materials,” he added.
The company said it plans to use new recycled paper fillers in most of its packaging for next month’s Prime Day event. The online retailer said the more sustainable packaging will come from suppliers that use 100 percent recycled materials and offer the same or greater protection to the products.
Christian Garcia, an associate at Amazon’s Bakersfield, California, fulfillment center, said in a press release that he was happy the company was moving to paper packaging.
“I’m really looking forward to switching over to paper,” she says. “Not only will it make my job easier, but the machine will give me more space and make it easier to pack orders.”
“And we’re proud to be part of the change that will enable our customers to recycle at home,” Garcia added.
