Amazon plans to fully remove plastic air pillows from packaging in North America by the end of the year, the company announced Thursday.
Amazon previously had announced such a plan last year, but hadn’t set a date.
The company already has replaced 95% of its plastic air pillows in North American packaging with paper filler.
“We are working towards full removal in North America by end of year and will continue to innovate, test, and scale in order to prioritize curbside recyclable materials,” Pat Lindner, VP of Mechatronics and Sustainable Packaging said in a statement.
Amazon first began testing eliminating the plastic packaging in an automated fulfillment center in Ohio last year, which provided insights that made it possible to make the switch for 95% of its shipments in less than a year.
“Through our testing of paper filler — which included an assessment by a third-party engineer lab — we discovered that it offers the same, if not better, protection to products than plastic air pillows,” Amazon said in a statement. “The paper filler is also curbside recyclable, making it easier for our customers to recycle at home, and made from 100% percent recycled content.”
Amazon says the efforts will allow it to avoid nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows annually, including in nearly all of its customer deliveries for this July’s Prime Day.
