Amazon Ditches Plastic Air Pillows 21
Amazon has reached its goal set earlier this year to completely get rid of plastic air pillows at its warehouses by the end of the year. "As of October 2024, we've removed all plastic air pillows from our delivery packaging used at our global fulfillment centers," the e-commerce giant said in an October 9th blog post. The Verge reports: It's a welcome change following years of pressure from environmental groups to stop plastic pollution flooding into oceans. The company is still working to reduce the use of single-use plastics more broadly in its packaging. The most prolific type of plastic litter near coastlines is plastic film -- a material that makes up those once ubiquitous air pillows, according to Oceana. That film also happens to be the "deadliest" type of plastic pollution for large mammals like whales and dolphins that might ingest it, Oceana says.
The company swapped out plastic air pillows and single-use delivery bags for paper and cardboard alternatives in Europe in 2022. It also ditched plastic film packaging at its facilities in India in 2020. The US is Amazon's largest market, and the company hasn't managed to fully eliminate plastic packaging in North America just yet. It says it plans to reduce the amount of deliveries containing "Amazon-added plastic delivery packaging" in North America to just one-third of shipments by December, down from two-thirds in December 2023.
The company swapped out plastic air pillows and single-use delivery bags for paper and cardboard alternatives in Europe in 2022. It also ditched plastic film packaging at its facilities in India in 2020. The US is Amazon's largest market, and the company hasn't managed to fully eliminate plastic packaging in North America just yet. It says it plans to reduce the amount of deliveries containing "Amazon-added plastic delivery packaging" in North America to just one-third of shipments by December, down from two-thirds in December 2023.
Useless (Score:1)
Re:Useless (Score:4, Funny)
Now instead of useless and entirely unneeded plastic pillows (sometimes empty), now I get a few useless and unneeded sheets of paper in every box. I guess that's an improvement.
Given that paper is a whole lot easier to recycle than plastic, I'd definitely say it's an improvement.
That said, I do try to re-use packing materials when possible, plastic or otherwise.
Re: (Score:2)
I got modded "Funny"? Anyway, to clarify, I re-use packing materials for shipping items sold on eBay, etc. I don't use them for craft projects.
Re: (Score:2)
And, importantly, if the paper doesn't get recycled, it also doesn't end up as what are increasingly looking like very very nasty microplastics.
A long way to go (Score:3)
The vast majority of my small orders in Canada are still delivered in plastic Amazon mailers and not the paper mailers. It's probably a 10:1 ratio. It's not clear to me what the difficulty is. Just use less of the plastic ones and more of the paper ones.
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe the manufacturer of the paper ones can't (yet) meet the quantities needed for that?
I mean, it's one thing for me to go out and buy something like 100 paper padded mailers, quite another for Amazon to buy hundreds of millions of them.
Re: (Score:3)
The whole idea of shipping individually packaged and wrapped stuff to every single customer like Amazon does is a sick idea from the beginning. I never bought anything from Amazon yet. I much rather encourage the local economy. The rest they do like what is stated in this FA is just virtue signaling without any real considerable value IMHO.
Re: (Score:2)
That would be nice, but a lot of the stuff I buy from Amazon isn't available from the local economy.
Plus,well, Amazon doesn't always ship stuff wrapped individually. If you don't want that, go for their common delivery day shipping options. I've gotten many items in a single box doing that.
Order a dozen things with the same delivery date, normally you will get 2-3 boxes, which makes sense if they come from different warehouses.
And 100M envelopes would be roughly 1 per household. Many may not buy from Amaz
A case of effectiveness, yet damaging (Score:1)
Just got a plastic bubble envelope today. (Score:3)
If only (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Amazon would just recycle them. Why don't you do that?
It would be nice if Amazon paid municipal taxes to offset the recycling burden their business creates at the shipping destinations. Does anyone know whether they do?
Re: If only (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
well... an awful lot of recycling centres are actually pretty good at separating out soft plastics because it turns out they are an absolute machine-clogging nightmare. This generally leaves them with a big old pile of well separated soft plastics that they don't have much to do with, because they don't recycle well.
Reusables. (Score:1)
there was a way to return your boxes and other packaging to Amazon...
If we could figure out a way to deliver milk (or beer) and re-use the bottles, then I’m pretty sure Amazon could figure out a way to come up with a permanent shipping container for the most frequent of shoppers who have decided that Convenience is a God you can worship, by never leaving the house.
Reusable containers that are foam padded and meet 90% of orders by size, probably wouldn’t be that difficult to pick up when you’re already onsite daily dropping off. Fucking figure it out, Amazo
Jeff on his private island in Hawai ... (Score:1)
Enjoying the beautiful nature over there.
The only think he cares about is finding a way to replace it with something cheaper.
Biodegradable plastics are not on his list of solutions.
What is their motivation for delay? (Score:2)
Amazon packaging is often ridiculous - giant box for mini item, stuffed with a variety of fillers some plastic some paper.
But - sometimes the packaging is sensible and efficient without waste.
So, why do they do it right sometimes, and retarded other times?
From the article "The company swapped out plastic air pillows and single-use delivery bags for paper and cardboard alternatives in Europe in 2022."
It seems they already know how to do all-fiber.
So, why do it right in one place, but continue obscene wastefu
Best Conspiracy Theory Ever (Score:2)
The Chinese used contaminated air inside bubble wrap and air pillows to spread their lab-designed viruses to the American population.