Even the Small…
When you receive a package, it can be frustrating to unload dozens of feet of plastic you know can’t be recycled. Your products may be protected, but the environmental impact of these inflated plastic sheets is enough to make you regret ordering in the first place.
Amazon has historically been one of the largest offenders in the use of plastic air pillows in their packages, having produced 208 million pounds of plastic waste in 2022 alone. Oceana, an ocean conservation advocacy group, estimated that 23.5 million pounds of Amazon’s plastic packing entered and polluted the world’s waterways in 2020. But, Amazon has begun a series of changes targeted at reducing it’s over-reliance on plastic in their shipments. Amazon has set a a goal to remove their plastic packaging materials entirely by the end of 2024, replacing them with recycled paper “insulation”. In a test case in Ohio in 2023, Amazon managed to reduce these plastics by 95% in all their shipments. Amazon believes that they can achieve those numbers and more by the end of 2024.
Read more here:
And read the initial report by Oceana here:
https://oceana.org/reports/amazon-report-2021/
While this is a step in the right direction, there is always much more that Amazon can do to reduce their negative impact on the environment. Matt Littlejohn, the Senior VP of strategic initiatives at Oceana, stated that “Amazon needs to build on this momentum and fulfill its multiyear commitment to transition its [North American] fulfillment centers away from plastic”. We can be supportive of Amazon for embarking on this new mission but it doesn’t mean we need to be satisfied. Even the small can affect the movements of giants.
How to Help:
Reduce your own reliance on plastic materials, whether you are shipping items or buying things for your home.
If you need to order from amazon, check to see if the item you want/need is available for delivery from the producer’s website instead.
Volunteer for beach cleanups to remove plastic from our beaches.
