Amazon announced the recent investment they made, which involved switching all of their packaging to be 100% recyclable. This means that customers all over Europe will now be receiving packages that are entirely recyclable, no matter what size they are.

The new recyclable material will be available in the form of boxes, bags and envelopes, from both Amazon directly and third-party partners. This means that no matter what the order contains, the customer will either receive it in a flexible paper bag, a cardboard envelope or a corrugated cardboard box. This ensures that any order from a customer will always have some sort of sustainable packaging option available, meaning a significant drive towards becoming more sustainable for the environment will be a possibility for both Amazon and the consumer as the packaging will remain fully recyclable throughout its entire life. So far, throughout the past year, Amazon has increased the number of packages shipped without extra packaging by 50% in Europe.

The well-known online retailer explained that in order to figure out how big of a package is needed for an order, the company has been using science-based systems which determine the type and size of the required packaging. Having an electronic system determine this for them, means that Amazon will reduce their waste further, by avoiding using excess renewable materials on packaging products. From 2019 to date, this system has had a positive effect on the packaging system, as the use of advanced algorithms has already seen a 35% reduction rate in the use of cardboard boxes. On top of this, the system has also stopped the use of an estimated one billion single-use plastic delivery bags. Instead, Amazon has made use of small boxes which replace the paper bags, and are a similar size to the bags and 90% lighter.

Altogether the benefits of this new packaging system clearly has multiple advantages for the company, the consumers and the environment. This greener approach to packaging and greener manufacturing process, which prevents waste of excess materials, is an excellent step forwards for the packaging industry and the recycling industry.

VP of sustainable packaging at Amazon Pat Lindner, commented, ‘Machine learning helps us determine which smaller products are suitable for flexible packaging, such as paper bags. We’re excited that our European fulfilment network is now using recyclable packaging for customer orders. This is part of our long-term work to be a leader in sustainability. We’ll continue to invest in innovative technology, machine learning, and more sustainable materials to ensure packaging—whether used by us or other companies—is good for our customers, communities, and the planet.’