Amazon Ditches Plastic Air Pillows

Amazon has reached its goal set earlier this year to completely get rid of plastic air pillows at its warehouses by the end of the year. 'As of October 2024, we've removed all plastic air pillows from our delivery packaging used at our global fulfillment centers,' the e-commerce giant said in an October 9th blog post. The Verge reports: It's a welcome change following years of pressure from environmental groups to stop plastic pollution flooding into oceans. The company is still working to reduce the use of single-use plastics more broadly in its packaging. The most prolific type of plastic litter near coastlines is plastic film -- a material that makes up those once ubiquitous air pillows, according to Oceana. That film also happens to be the 'deadliest' type of plastic pollution for large mammals like whales and dolphins that might ingest it, Oceana says.

The company swapped out plastic air pillows and single-use delivery bags for paper and cardboard alternatives in Europe in 2022. It also ditched plastic film packaging at its facilities in India in 2020. The US is Amazon's largest market, and the company hasn't managed to fully eliminate plastic packaging in North America just yet. It says it plans to reduce the amount of deliveries containing 'Amazon-added plastic delivery packaging' in North America to just one-third of shipments by December, down from two-thirds in December 2023.

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