<
https://grist.org/accountability/amazons-inflatable-plastic-pillows-are-officially-a-thing-of-the-past/>
"After years of pressure from environmental advocates, the global retail giant
Amazon announced last week that it has eliminated plastic air pillows from its
global network of “fulfillment centers,” as Amazon calls its warehouse and
distribution facilities. Around the world, products inside the company’s
packages are now cushioned by paper-based padding that can be collected in
curbside recycling programs.
“We are committed to improving how orders are shipped, for the good of
customers and the planet,” Amazon wrote in a blog post.
The announcement represents the fulfillment of a promise Amazon made in June to
work “toward full removal” of plastic air pillows from North America by the end
of the year. At that time, the company said it had already replaced 95 percent
of its air pillows across the continent with paper filler. Years before that,
in 2021, Amazon eliminated plastic air pillows in Australia, and in 2022 it did
the same for orders shipped from its warehouses in Europe.
Oceana, a nonprofit ocean advocacy group, has dogged Amazon for several years
over its use of plastics, largely through a series of reports quantifying the
company’s overall plastic footprint and its contribution to aquatic plastic
pollution. Matt Littlejohn, Oceana’s senior vice president for strategic
initiatives, said Amazon’s announcement is “actually quite significant,” even
though the phaseout doesn’t apply to orders shipped by third-party sellers.
Amazon hasn’t disclosed what fraction of its sales are fulfilled in that way.
“It’s great news for the oceans and for the globe in general that the world’s
biggest e-commerce company did this,” Littlejohn said.
Still, Amazon continues to use tens of thousands of tons of plastic every year
in other forms of packaging — much of it thin, filmy plastic used in delivery
bags and padded mailers. Plastic film is not only virtually impossible to
recycle, but also the most common form of plastic litter in coastal waters and
the most lethal type of plastic to large marine animals. Oceana and other
environmental groups say the company should strengthen its plastic-reduction
promises by setting deadlines to move away from all types of single-use plastic
packaging, and scaling up reusable alternatives.
“We want the company to make a commitment to do more,” Littlejohn told Grist.
He said Amazon’s actions could influence other large retailers to also reduce
their plastics use."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/275-resurrection-notre-dame/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
