No more single-use plastic in Europe for Amazon. The packaging used by the e-commerce giant's customers and by sellers in its Shipped by Amazon program is now recyclable. The U.S. multinational ships them in recyclable flexible paper bags (custom-made for certain products) ), cardboard envelopes and corrugated boxes.
This transition has been gradual. In France, the single-use plastic delivery pouches are being replaced since November 2021 by paper pockets and cardboard envelopes. And in June 2022, the American group announced the start of the replacement of plastic air cushions by paper dunnage in France.
Across the Atlantic, the move to replace plastic with paper or cardboard is not as advanced. Only last October, Amazon opened its first automated distribution center in the USA, in Euclid, Ohio, using recyclable paper packaging solutions instead of plastic delivery packaging. The group has around a hundred distribution centers in the United States.
Amazon has also announced that it is working with its suppliers to ensure that products are delivered in their original packaging, with just a delivery label affixed to them.
These packages must be easy to open, made of cardboard or paper, and ready to be shipped to customers, without any additional Amazon bags or boxes. In 2022, 11% of packages shipped by Amazon worldwide were without additional delivery packaging.
