Amazon has replaced 95 percent of the plastic air pillows from delivery packaging in North America with 100 percent recycled paper filler – a move that is, according to the company, expected to “avoid nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows annually.” The decision is part of Amazon’s “multi-year effort to remove plastic delivery packaging from North America fulfillment centers.” This announcement follows years of campaigning by Oceana and its allies for the company to reduce its use of plastic packaging, including releasing reports on Amazon’s plastic packaging waste footprint, campaigning outside the company’s headquarters, meeting with company representatives, and advocating for shareholder resolutions.
In response, Oceana released the following statement from Matt Littlejohn, Oceana’s senior vice president of Strategic Initiatives:
“As the world’s dominant e-commerce company, Amazon’s action to reduce plastic packaging is welcome news for the oceans and the company’s customers.
“In 2020, when e-commerce sales surged due to the global pandemic, Oceana and our allies set out to push Amazon to reduce its enormous use of plastic packaging. Now, four years later, Amazon has announced it has effectively phased out plastic air pillows in North America, including in the United States (its largest market), Canada, and Mexico – markets accounting for more than 70 percent of Amazon’s sales. Oceana’s most recent report found that, in 2022, protective packaging, including plastic air pillows, accounted for over one-third of all e-commerce plastic packaging by weight globally. Plastic air pillows are made from the most common form of marine plastic litter in nearshore ocean areas – plastic film – which is also the deadliest type of plastic to large marine animals. Plastic film, unlike its paper alternatives, is not curbside recyclable or compostable. According to research by YouGov, 85 percent of Amazon customers in the U.S. reported being concerned about plastic pollution.
“While this is a significant step forward for the company, Amazon needs to build on this momentum and fulfill its multiyear commitment to transition its North America fulfillment centers away from plastic. 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.”
Amazon’s move away from plastic air pillows in North America follows the company’s phasing out of plastic air pillows in Australia, and nearly all single-use plastic packaging (including air pillows) in India and throughout Europe. Last year, the company reported using 11.6 percent less plastic packaging globally in 2022 compared to the previous year.