Amazon has unveiled its groundbreaking initiative to replace plastic delivery packaging with curbside-recyclable paper solutions at its first fully automated fulfillment center in the United States, located in Euclid, Ohio. This milestone signifies Amazon’s multiyear effort to transition U.S. fulfillment centers from plastic to paper packaging, enabling greater convenience for customers to recycle at home.
Traditionally, Amazon, like other retailers, used a combination of plastic and paper packaging for various products, focusing on factors such as durability, weight, and size. However, the process of recycling plastic packaging often necessitates customer trips to drop-off locations. Amazon’s packaging engineers have worked tirelessly for years to identify innovative solutions that facilitate the use of paper packaging.
The Euclid fulfillment center’s transition to entirely paper packaging involved the conversion of existing machines from plastic to paper, the creation of durable and flexible paper packaging, enhancements to made-to-fit technology, and the replacement of plastic air pillows with paper fillers.
Pat Lindner, VP of Mechatronics and Sustainable Packaging at Amazon, stated, “This is a major milestone for our U.S. fulfillment centers, and I’m incredibly proud of the teams that developed new technologies to eliminate plastic packaging. This is just the beginning, as we continue to discover more ways to eliminate and reduce plastic packaging for our customers.”
Innovative Solutions to Eliminate Plastic Packaging
- Transitioning Plastic Air Pillows to Paper Filler: Amazon has shifted from using plastic air pillows to paper fillers made from 100% recycled content, simplifying recycling for customers who can now dispose of them in their curbside recycling bins.
- Redesigning Machines to Produce Paper Bags: To reduce waste and ensure product safety, Amazon’s packaging engineers redesigned machines to use non-padded paper packaging. This packaging is identified using built-in sensors, heat-sealed for security, and designed to be curbside recyclable.
- Creating New Machines for Made-to-Fit Corrugate Packaging: Amazon developed machines capable of producing on-demand, curbside-recyclable, made-to-fit packages using flexible and lightweight corrugate for products requiring additional protection.
These innovations represent Amazon’s commitment to reducing packaging and enhancing curbside recyclability. The company has also been working on initiatives such as the “Ships in Product Packaging” program, which eliminates additional packaging, and reducing per-shipment packaging weight by 41% since 2015, equivalent to more than 2.1 million tons of avoided packaging materials. In 2022, Amazon reduced single-use plastic delivery packaging by 11.6% globally by expanding the use of paper-based packaging and lighter materials.