Amazon is taking plastic liners, bubble bags, and some of the consumer guilt out of grocery deliveries.
The company says it has created new packaging for cold and frozen foods that is made from recycled paper, and can be recycled in curbside bins. It rolls out starting this month for Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods grocery deliveries.
The packaging is also produced in different regions of the United States, closer to the locations that will use it, further reducing the environmental impact, says Stephenie Landry, vice president of Amazon’s grocery business, in a post announcing the new packaging.
It’s part of Amazon’s Climate Pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. It’s also part of a larger effort by the company to shift to recyclable packaging.
The packaging’s ability to keep food cold and frozen was tested in internal and external labs, and in consumer pilots in multiple cities, according to an online Q&A published by the company with Joe Rake, a senior program manager for Amazon’s consumer packaging experience.
“After a lot of rigorous testing and customer feedback, we landed on a version of recycled paper tissue layering that’s relatively common in the moving and packing industry but that we reinvented for our grocery delivery customers,” Rake says.
