Plastic Pollution from Amazon Continues to Soar Since the Start of Pandemic

According to a survey from the marine conservation group Oceana, Amazon's plastic packaging trash increased by about a third, to 270,000 tons, last year's outbreak.

Tons and Tons of Plastic

Oceana forecasts that up to 10,700 tons of plastic, including air pillows, bubble wrap, and plastic-lined paper envelopes, will wind up in the sea every 67 minutes, comparable to a delivery van's worth.

The largest retailer in the Western world, Amazon dismissed Oceana's estimates, claiming that it had exaggerated plastic waste by 300 percent. It also questioned the formula used to calculate the percentage of people likely to drown. Alternative figures were not provided.

Sales Boost Amidst the Pandemic

When most of the globe was under lockdown, and online sales rose, the store experienced a 38 percent boost in sales to $386 billion (£290 billion) in 2020.

Oceana Analysis

Oceana's analysis uses interviews with local municipal garbage authorities, retailers linked to Amazon's Second Chance recycling website, and polls of Amazon Prime subscribers to question the company's recycling claims. The company's recycling efforts, according to the report, "would not materially diminish its massive (and expanding) plastic impact."

Oceana's senior vice-president, Matt Littlejohn, stated, "We are utilizing the finest data available to us." We would gladly use Amazon's data if they were upfront. Yes, they're using less plastic packaging, but they're also selling a lot more.

"We recognize that consumers rely on Amazon. So we're hopeful Amazon can solve this problem and become a leader in the fight against plastic pollution, which is critical for the seas."

According to the paper, the plastic film used by Amazon in its packaging has little or no value in the recycling market. It is not widely recognized by municipal recycling systems in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Oceana discovered that over 75% of Amazon Prime members polled in 25 locations across the UK and US transferred plastic to waste, whether consciously or unknowingly. Almost 40% disposed of it in recycling bins, where the presence of plastic film would cause it to be thrown away, and 35% disposed of the plastic in the bin. A little more than 20% of 1,400 customers said they reused the plastic, while 5% said they dropped it off in-store drop-off containers on Amazon's customer-driven recycling program, which can be found on its Second Chance website.

Furthermore, staff at more than 40% of the establishments Amazon recommends as alternate plastic film recycling drop-off locations told hidden consumers that Amazon's plastic film was not accepted.

Recycled Plastics

Only 9% of all plastic garbage has been recycled in the past. Almost most of it gets disposed of in landfills, burnt, or pollutes the environment, including streams and seas.

Rachel Johnson Greer, an eight-year Amazon employee and former program manager said the corporation would only take action on plastics if governments or a majority of consumers requested it.

More than a third of Amazon shareholders voted in May in favor of a resolution requiring the company to quantify its single-use plastic usage and make recommendations to reduce it by the end of the year.

After India's prime leader, Narendra Modi, and the country's national government vowed to prohibit single-use plastics by 2022, Oceana has highlighted the retailer's work in India, where it has eradicated single-use plastic packaging by utilizing paper alternatives. The prohibition was postponed, but a tribunal determined that manufacturers, importers, and brand owners were responsible for packing.

Future Efforts

Amazon also stated that it will stop using single-use plastic packaging in Germany.

"If the corporation can do it in India and Germany, they will be able to move away from single-use plastic packaging globally," Littlejohn added.

"Amazon shares Oceana's desire to conserve the world's oceans and appreciates their work," an Amazon spokeswoman stated, "but their estimates are gravely incorrect for the second year." They've inflated our use of plastic by more than 300 percent, and they're relying on obsolete ideas about the origins of plastic garbage in our seas."

"Amazon is making fast progress in the UK and across the world in reducing or eliminating single-use plastics from packaging materials."

Amazon plans to maximize entirely recyclable cushioned plastic in North America, replacing single-use pillows in Australia with totally recyclable paper pillows and expanding its packaging-free project to 100 cities throughout India, among other steps to minimize plastic waste.

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