Amazon The company said Thursday it will eliminate 95% of the plastic air pillows used in its packaging in North America and replace them with paper stuffing made from 100% recycled content.
This will be Amazon’s largest ever plastic packaging reduction initiative and will help eliminate approximately 15 billion plastic pillows per year.
“We aim to be fully phased out in North America by the end of the year and will continue to innovate, test and scale to prioritize curbside recyclable materials,” said Pat Lindner, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging. He said in the announcement.
The e-commerce company will begin transitioning away from its first plastic fillers in October 2023. Automated fulfillment centers in the US To eliminate plastic shipping packaging, Amazon worked with suppliers to source curbside recyclable paper packaging instead.
This isn’t the first step Amazon has taken to reduce packaging waste: In 2015, the company launched its “Ship in Packaging” program, an initiative aimed at reducing the use of Amazon’s iconic brown boxes and instead shipping products in their original packaging.