They’re a familiar sight on Amazon’s packages: plastic air cushions designed to keep products safe in transit, but which also end up in landfills by the billions.
Now, under pressure from environmentalists to reduce the use of plastic packaging, the world’s largest retailer in the world is close to replacing all of its inflatable plastic pillows with recycled paper filler.
Amazon says the move will prevent the use of nearly 15 billion airbags annually in North America. It’s the Seattle-based retail giant’s “largest plastic packaging reduction effort” to date, the retail giant said in a press release Thursday.
It’s just one way companies are responding to an outcry from people and environmental groups over retailers’ use of plastic packaging, especially as online shopping continues to grow.
Oceana, the ocean conservation group that has long battled Amazon over its plastic use, called the move “welcome news for the company’s oceans and customers.” But he called for further reductions in single-use packaging, such as the padded plastic envelopes that Amazon continues to use.
The cushions are made from plastic film, which scientists have found to be the most common form of plastic litter in the sea and on the seabed near the coast. Plastic film can be deadly to wildlife, including sea turtles and seabirds. And unlike paper alternatives, plastic film generally cannot be composted or recycled in curbside programs.
A recent report from Oceana found that protective packaging such as airbags accounted for more than a third of global e-commerce packaging by weight.
Thursday’s announcement covers the United States, Amazon’s largest market, as well as Canada and Mexico, which together account for more than 70 percent of the retailer’s global sales. Amazon has already replaced about 95 percent of its plastic pads with paper in those markets, she said, and is working to phase them out completely by the end of the year.
Amazon says it has already phased out the use of plastic air cushions in Australia, as well as almost all single-use plastic packaging in India and across Europe. But these changes have been slower to come to the rest of the world. In 2022, Amazon reported using almost 12 percent less plastic packaging worldwide compared to the year before.
Environmental and consumer groups have been working on many fronts to stem the tide of plastic packaging waste. Earlier this year, the groups pushed for a New York state bill that aims to reduce the use of plastic packaging by 50 percent over 12 years, requiring manufacturers to either find more sustainable options or pay a fee.
The bill, which would also ban some toxic chemicals currently used in packaging, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, vinyl chloride and formaldehyde, passed the state Senate but did not come up for a vote in the Assembly. California, Oregon, Maine and Colorado have passed similar legislation.
Of course, there’s the tricky question: What about all the extra paper Amazon will use?
Paper is recyclable and biodegradable, an improvement over plastic. However, paper’s impact on the climate can vary greatly depending on what is used in the pulp, according to a 2021 United Nations report that compared single-use plastics with other forms of packaging.
And if paper bags end up in landfills, they can contribute to planet-warming methane pollution as they biodegrade. On the other hand, paper is more likely to be recycled. And if plastic bags end up burning, they release toxic chemicals.
Amazon, for its part, says it is moving forward with a multi-year effort to remove all plastic delivery packaging from its North American fulfillment centers. One center, in Ohio, has already moved away from plastic entirely, according to the company.
And some additional good news for shoppers? Amazon said its engineers tested how effective paper is at protecting products during shipping and found that paper was just as good, if not better, than plastic pads.