SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Amazon announced significant progress in its efforts to eliminate the use of plastic delivery packaging from its fulfilment centres in North America. The company has successfully replaced nearly 95% of its plastic air pillows from delivery packaging in North America with 100% recycled paper filler. This in turn will result in elimination of approximately 15 billion plastic air pillows every year.

The achievement is attributed to several years of vigorous campaigning by Oceania and its allies for reduction of use of plastic packaging by Amazon. Oceania had been regularly monitoring Amazon’s plastic packaging waste footprint, holding meetings with company representatives, and organizing campaigns outside Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

Amazon announced that it has phased out plastic air pillows in North America. As per rough estimates, protective packaging, including plastic air pillows, accounted for over one-third of world’s e-commerce plastic packaging by weight in 2022. The company intends to build on this momentum and fulfill its multiyear commitment to completely eliminate plastics at its North American fulfilment centres.

Amazon’s actions to reduce plastic packaging is a welcome news not only for its customers, but also for the world’s oceans, said Matt Littlejohn, Oceana’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives.