All delivery packaging material used by Amazon in Europe is now recyclable at home, according to the online retailer. The company claims to have avoided using more than a billion single-use plastic delivery bags in European distribution since 2019.
And now, products arrive in flexible paper bags, cardboard envelopes, and corrugated cardboard boxes instead, which can all be placed in household recycling. This includes items sold by Amazon, and third-party selling partners that use Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA).
Pat Lindner, VP of mechatronics and sustainable packaging at the retailer, said: “We’re excited that our European fulfilment network is now using recyclable packaging for customer orders.
“This is part of our long-term work to be a leader in sustainability, and we’ll continue to invest in innovative technology, machine learning, and more sustainable materials, to ensure packaging – whether used by us, or by other companies – is good for our customers, communities, and the planet.”
In the past year, Amazon has also grown the number of products shipped without any additional Amazon packaging by more than 50 percent in Europe. Products are shipped with just an address label added.
For every shipment that requires packaging, Amazon uses science-based systems to determine the type and size of packaging needed.
Machine learning helps the company determine which smaller products are suitable for flexible packaging, such as paper bags, which are up to 90 percent lighter than similar-sized boxes.
Over the past five years, the company claims these algorithms have reduced the use of cardboard boxes by more than 35 percent.
