Millions of pounds of plastic packaging from Amazon deliveries ends up in the ocean every year, Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
By David Vetou
Forbes
Online retail giant Amazon generated almost 500 million pounds of plastic packaging last year, more than 22 million pounds of which ended up in rivers and oceans, a new report has claimed, potentially threatening efforts by CEO Jeff Bezos to burnish his firm’s sustainability credentials.
According to research from ocean conservation charity Oceana, plastic air pillows and bubble wrap accounted for most of the waste from Amazon deliveries, the use of which has risen rapidly in recent years. The report, which surmised that Amazon sent some 7 billion deliveries last year alone, calculated that the combined length of the air pillows used by Amazon in one year would circle the Earth 500 times. Furthermore, the charity said, the size of the company’s plastic footprint is set to grow as its global operation expands.
The report also found that most Amazon customers want the company to change its ways, with 86% of those surveyed saying they were concerned about plastic pollution. Noting that the company has already made moves to eliminate single-use plastic waste in its India operation, Oceana included in the report a series of steps Amazon could take to shrink its plastic impact.
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The plastic in deliveries going into the ocean should be stopped if we want cleaner oceans. Thank you for the post.
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No worries, Sustain blog. IMHO the best way consumers can do our part is to boycott Amazon and help others by finding low cost alternatives. Our numbers (participating in the boycott) are still far too small and need to increase exponentially.
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Reblogged this on Wake Up To The Truth.
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Is there any other way to substitute plastic and decrease the over pollution?
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As I mentioned to Sustain blog, Olivia, the best way for ordinary people to pressure Amazon to use non-polluting packing materials is to boycott their company.
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