Amazon Eliminates 95% of Plastic Inflatable Air Cushions in North America

TapTechNews June 24th. Amazon announced last Thursday that it has removed 95% of the plastic inflatable air cushions from its packaging in North America and will replace them with paper fillers made from 100% recycled materials.

This is Amazon's largest plastic packaging reduction initiative in North America, and will help it eliminate nearly 15 billion plastic inflatable air cushions annually.

Pat Lindner, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging at Amazon, said in a statement: The company aims to completely eliminate plastic inflatable air cushions in North America by the end of this year and will continue to innovate, test and scale up, prioritizing the use of recyclable materials available at the curb side.

TapTechNews noted that Amazon started to abandon plastic inflatable air cushions in October 2023, when it announced the establishment of its first automated distribution center in the United States, with the goal of eliminating plastic distribution packaging. Amazon works with suppliers to source paper fillers that can be recycled at the curb side.