You come home to find a new Amazon package at the door. What typically follows next is you open the corrugated box, push aside whatever protective packaging elements fill the box and grab your new product. The aftermath of this is a mix of recyclable corrugate containers, non-recyclable fillers and maybe some non-curbside recyclable plastic air pillows strewn across your floor. In the end, not everything ends up where it should, and there is a lot of waste involved. It’s a scenario that consumers are very familiar with, especially with the rise in online shopping.
It’s also a problem Amazon is well-aware of, and is seeking to rectify by pushing their vendors to use recyclable packaging materials certified under Amazon’s Frustration-Free Packaging program. As of August 1, vendors who have not enrolled their products that exceed 20 lbs. or 18” x 14” x 8” into Amazon’s Frustration-Free Packaging program will be charged $1.99/unit received. Vendors who receive their certification before the deadline get a credit from Amazon of $1 per newly certified and received unit.