Amazon announces largest reduction in plastic packaging in North America to date

Amazon graphic representing switch to paper filler — *(Courtesy of Amazon)*

“We’re constantly inventing and thinking big to make our packaging small. We want to ensure that customers receive their items undamaged, while using as little packaging as possible to avoid waste, and prioritizing recyclable materials,” Amazon said Thursday in its announcement.

The company added: “The removal of 95% of our plastic air pillows is another step in our path to avoid and reduce packaging—and part of our multi-year effort to remove plastic delivery packaging from North America fulfillment centers.”

To date, this will be Amazon’s largest plastic packaging reduction effort in North America and will avoid nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows annually.

“I’m proud of the cross-Amazon collaboration to make a positive impact on the customer delivery experience with easier-to-recycle materials. It’s a great example of how we thoughtfully test and scale new solutions to protect our customer experience,” said Pat Lindner, VP of Mechatronics and Sustainable Packaging. “We are working towards full removal in North America by end of year and will continue to innovate, test, and scale in order to prioritize curbside recyclable materials.”

Last October, Amazon announced its first U.S. automated fulfillment center in Ohio to eliminate plastic delivery packaging, including the transition from plastic air pillows to paper filler. This work in Ohio allowed Amazon to test and learn and move quickly on transitioning to paper filler for 95% of its shipments in less than a year.

To achieve this, Amazon’s teams collaborated with suppliers to source paper filler made from 100% recycled content, while also coordinating the transition across hundreds of its fulfillment centers. This included working with thousands of employees to change the company’s machinery as well as hosting employee training sessions for these new systems and machines.

Through its testing of paper filler—which included an assessment by a third-party engineer lab—Amazon discovered that it offers the same, if not better, protection to products than plastic air pillows. The paper filler is also curbside recyclable, making it easier for Amazon’s customers to recycle at home, and made from 100% percent recycled content.

“I’m so excited we’re changing over to paper. It’s not only easier to work with, but the machinery gives us more space, so it’s easier to pack orders,” said Christian Garcia, fulfillment Associate at Amazon’s BFL1 fulfillment center in Bakersfield, California. “And I’m proud to be a part of a change that allows customers to recycle at home.”

This effort builds on Amazon’s ongoing investment in reducing packaging and increasing curbside recyclability across all of its operations, while ensuring products get to customers undamaged.