Amazon takes another small step to reduce the use of plastic in packaging used to protect the products sold. Instead of air cushions in Italy, the classic will be used for the products managed by the logistics of the US giant (Fulfillment by Amazon) packaging paper that is easy to give back to life once recycled. This step is in addition to the elimination of single-use plastic bags, replaced with recyclable paper and cardboard bags for deliveries made by Amazon in Italy. 100% recycled and recyclable wrapping paper is known as dunnage and is designed to prevent movement inside the boxes and keep items safe. “It is important for both customers and us that the packaging is easy to recycle – explains Olivier Pellegrini, Director of Customer Delivery Experience at Amazon -. Abandoning the use of plastic air cushions is just another step towards packaging that can be easily included in our customers’ home recycling habits ». Since 2015, Amazon has reduced the weight of outbound packaging by more than a third per shipment and eliminated over one million tons of packaging material – the equivalent of two billion shipping boxes. disposables are no longer used to package orders shipped from Amazon’s fulfillment chain in Europe.
The company adapts the dimensions of the packaging to the products, in order to use less material overall and increases the amount of recycled material used for their production. Amazon’s packaging programs encourage sellers to package their products in 100% recyclable packaging that is easy to open and ready to ship to customers without Amazon adding additional shipping packaging. Amazon’s packaging is tested in a dedicated, state-of-the-art lab and fulfillment centers around the world to identify specific steps sellers can take to improve their product packaging and ensure products are protected right up to the door. of the customer’s home. There are a few occasions when customers may receive plastic-wrapped products in these cases: When an item arrives from the manufacturer in a single-use plastic bag and the bag is eligible, Amazon delivers the product to the customer in the manufacturer-provided bag. This avoids adding unnecessary extra packaging; if the bag contains content that could spill material, Amazon may decide to add a layer of plastic outside the packaging; other types of plastic padding, such as bubble wrap, can be used if necessary, for example to protect fragile objects such as glass; in particular weather conditions, Amazon may decide to add a single-use plastic bag to the paper and cardboard packaging to protect orders that are left on our customers’ doorsteps from rain.