Amazon swaps plastic air pillows for recycled paper in North America

Amazon has announced its largest reduction in plastic packaging in North America to date by replacing 95% of the plastic air pillows in delivery packaging with paper filler, aiming for full removal by the end of the year.

This initiative marks a significant step in Amazon's ongoing effort to avoid and reduce packaging. The company’s multi-year plan to eliminate plastic delivery packaging from its North American fulfilment centres will result in avoiding nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows annually. For Prime Day this year, nearly all customer deliveries will be free of plastic air pillows.

Testing of the paper filler, including an assessment by a third-party engineer lab, has shown that it provides equal or better protection to products compared to plastic air pillows. Additionally, the paper filler is curbside recyclable and made from 100% recycled content, making it easier for customers to recycle at home.

Pat Lindner, VP of Mechatronics and Sustainable Packaging, said: I’m proud of the cross-Amazon collaboration to make a positive impact on the customer delivery experience with easier to recycle materials. It’s a great example of how we thoughtfully test and scale new solutions to protect our customer experience. We are working towards full removal in North America by end of year and will continue to innovate, test, and scale in order to prioritise curbside recyclable materials.

Last October, Amazon opened its first U.S. automated fulfilment centre in Ohio designed to eliminate plastic delivery packaging. This centre served as a testing ground for transitioning from plastic air pillows to paper filler. The success in Ohio facilitated the swift implementation of the paper filler transition for 95% of Amazon's shipments in less than a year.