Amazon might finally be cutting down on plastic waste

Date:
Mon, 24 Jul 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Description:
Environmental advocates say Amazon appears to be on the right pathin contrast to many other major plastic users. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The company says it used 86,000 metric tons of plastic last year12 percent less than in 2021. The post Amazon might finally be cutting down on plastic waste appeared first on Popular Science .

FULL STORY ====================================================================== Environmental advocates say Amazon appears to be on the right pathin contrast to many other major plastic users. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

This story was originally published by Grist . Sign up for Grists weekly newsletter here .

After years of criticism for its outsize use of plastic, the worlds largest retailer appears to be making progress to reduce its plastic footprint.

Amazon announced in its latest sustainability report on Tuesday that orders shipped from its fulfillment centers used 85,916 metric tons of single-use plastic in 2022an 11.6 percent decrease from the amount used in 2021.

The company attributed this decline to its expanded use of paper-based packaging, as well as an increased effort to ship items in their original containerswithout adding any Amazon-branded packaging. Amazon has also
stopped using nonrecyclable bags made of mixed materials , and on Tuesday it said it was phasing out padded plastic mailersthose ubiquitous blue and white envelopes studded with the Amazon logoin favor of recyclable alternatives.

Eliminating padded plastic mailers is a big, big deal, said Matt Littlejohn, senior vice president for strategic initiatives for the nonprofit Oceana, although he called on the company to set a concrete timeline for doing so. He called Amazons sustainability report good news for the oceans, since plastic film like the kind used in Amazons packaging is one of the most common forms of marine plastic litter and is the deadliest type of plastic to marine animals .

Plastics have other impacts, too: Theyre made of fossil fuels and are a major source of climate pollution , and they cause toxic chemical pollution at
every stage of their life cycle. Meanwhile, the U.S. recycling rate for plastics is just 5 percent , meaning the vast majority of plastics are littered, burned, or sent to a landfill.

Amazons 2022 sustainability report is the first to include a quantitative estimate of the companys single-use plastics footprint; previously, the companys only other estimate came from a blog post last December. Before
that, organizations like Oceana had to publish their own estimates and had called for greater transparencysometimes through investor pressure. Over the past three years, shareholder advocacy groups have repeatedly filed resolutions demanding that Amazon disclose the amount of plastic it uses and reduce it by one-third by 2030. One resolution, co-filed in December 2021 by Green Century Capital Management and As You Sow, was supported by nearly half of Amazon shareholders .

Now, environmental advocates say Amazon appears to be on the right pathin contrast to many other major plastic users. Even companies that have signed onto a prominent pledge to reduce virgin plastic use have moved in the wrong direction: Over the past several years, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Mars, and many others have reported an increase in the weight of their virgin plastic packaging.

Still, the 86,000 metric tons of plastic used in Amazon fulfillment centers
is a lot, and Douglass Guernsey, a shareholder advocate for Green Century Capital Management, said Amazon must move much faster to replace other types of plastic packaginglike non-padded plastic mailerswith reusable alternatives or packaging made from recycled paper. He called for third-party verification of Amazons single-use plastic reductions, and for the company to disclose
more information about its plastics use: What type of plastic is Amazon
using? Guernsey asked. How much is designed to be recyclable?

Guernsey also criticized Amazon for failing to make a forward-looking, time-bound commitment to reduce its plastics use. I would like them to make a statement saying, Were phasing out single-use plastic. Were Amazon, we can do that, he said.

Littlejohn said Amazon should ensure that its plastic reductions manifest throughout the companys supply chains. Although the numbers cited in Amazons 2022 sustainability report likely apply to the majority of Amazon ordersthose shipped from the companys fulfillment centersthey dont cover those that are shipped from third-party sellers doorsteps. Amazon doesnt disclose what fraction of its sales are shipped from third-party sellers.

Amazon declined to respond to a series of questions about its plastic use,
but a spokesperson for the company said they continue to prioritize materials that are recyclable and to find alternatives to plastic. The spokesperson noted some of Amazons previously published progress, including the
elimination of single-use plastic air pillows in Europe and Australia.

Both Guernsey and Littlejohn vowed to keep campaigning for stronger action from Amazon. Investors care about this, Guernsey said. The shareholder
process has been incredibly important and were going to continue to use it
to pressure the company to reduce its environmental footprint.

This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/accountability/after-years-of-criticism-amazon-appears-to-be -cutting-down-on-plastics/ . Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org



The post Amazon might finally be cutting down on plastic waste appeared first on Popular Science . Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.



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