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Amazon replaces 95% of plastic air pillows with recyclable paper filler

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Key Highlights:

In a major step forward towards sustainable packaging solutions and environmental responsibility, US online retailer Amazon has replaced 95% of the plastic air pillows from delivery packaging in North America with paper filler. The company is aiming towards a full removal by the end of this year.

Dramatic waste reduction

"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 prioritising recyclable materials," Amazon stated on its website.

By transitioning to paper filler, Amazon will eliminate nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows from their annual packaging demands. The company has marked this movement as its "largest plastic packaging reduction effort in North America."

Customers will see the change on Prime Day this year, as nearly all of its customer deliveries will not contain plastic air pillows.

“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 prioritise kerbside recyclable materials.”

Offers equal protection

Rigorous testing of the paper filler by third-party engineers discovered that it offers equal, if not better, protection to products than plastic air pillows.

Not only that, the paper filler is made from 100% recycled content and is conveniently recyclable at home.

“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. And I’m proud to be a part of a change that allows customers to recycle at home,” added Christian Garcia, fulfilment associate, BFL1 fulfillment center in Bakersfield, California.

Driving sustainable change

This effort builds on Amazon’s ongoing investment in reducing packaging and increasing kerbside recyclability across all of its operations, without affecting the quality of the packaging. It also represents a positive shift for sustainable solutions within the e-commerce industry.

"This includes programs we’ve invested in for many years—like our work to ship items without any additional packaging. In 2022, 11% of all packages shipped by Amazon globally were without added Amazon delivery packaging through our Ships in Product Packaging program, where we test and certify products to ensure they can safely ship in their own packaging," the Amazon website read.

"We’re also working to invent new materials and recycling solutions that keep both our customers and the environment in mind."

Furthermore, Amazon is piloting new technologies with its collaborative partners, such as  San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics company, Glacier, to "bring new materials and recycling programs to life."

Together, they're utilising AI-powered robots to automate the sorting of recyclables and gather real-time data on company recycling streams - which can overall reduce landfill waste and boost the use of recycled materials in packaging.

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