Explore Amazon's pursuit of sustainable packaging
Amazon recently unveiled further details of its packaging sustainability strategy, including curbside recycling design, machine learning algorithms to save packaging materials, and plans to eliminate unnecessary self-shipping cartons.
About 49% of Amazon's shareholders voted for the company to address plastic use at its annual general meeting in May 2022, Oceana said. Amazon reportedly generated about 709 million pounds of plastic waste through e-commerce sales in 2021, an 18% increase from 2020.
Amazon currently claims to be reducing waste by optimizing the type, material and weight of add-on packaging, and limiting the use of add-on packaging where necessary to ensure safe delivery of products. The company has also pledged to improve the recyclability of packaging and reduce its carbon emissions.
To achieve this, Amazon is pursuing scientific approaches, including laboratory testing, machine learning, materials science and manufacturing partnerships.
Amazon plans to improve the recyclability of packaging, phasing out soft bags that are difficult to recycle, and adopting more recyclable alternatives. For example, Amazon has introduced paper parcels, made of four layers of paper and water-based cushioning material that can be separated during recycling.
Additionally, Amazon's own carton shipping program is designed to reduce packaging weight and unnecessary material use. By identifying, evaluating, and certifying items packaged in materials suitable for shipping, Amazon hopes to expand its own carton shipping program and encourage sales partners and suppliers to adjust packaging to meet these standards.
Amazon is also working to reduce empty space in cartons by using machine learning algorithms to match each product to the most efficient and protective packaging options. In addition, its web-based PackOpt tool, which optimizes available carton options based on order patterns at different facilities, has already achieved substantial cardboard savings.
According to Amazon, since 2020, the company has avoided the use of 37,150 tons of plastic and eliminated 2 million tons of packaging material from operations, reducing the packaging weight of each shipment by 41%. In addition, 11% of shipments are delivered without additional Amazon packaging, 49% are delivered in flexible packaging, and 40% are delivered in corrugated boxes.
Amazon said it has joined the U.S. Department of Energy's BOTTLE Alliance to develop new plastic chemistry upgrade recycling strategies to promote bio-based and biodegradable plastic recycling for a net-zero carbon impact.
Other companies are also tweaking their sustainability strategies. Walmart, for example, has introduced initiatives to give consumers the option to reject single-use plastic bags and consolidate online orders for multiple items into fewer boxes. They also plan to reduce waste by up to 26 percent on oversized packaging usage and use recyclable paper bag mailers to ship items from distribution centers and stores to eliminate the 65 million plastic equivalent in circulation in the United States.