Amazon under fire for new non-recyclable packaging | Technology



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Amazon has been criticized by environmental groups and customers after introducing a range of non-recyclable plastic packaging in the UK.

While supermarkets and other retailers have reduced their consumption of single-use plastics, the world's largest online retailer has begun sending small items into plastic envelopes, apparently allowing more parcels to be loaded into each truck. Delivery.

Adrian Fletcher, a Glasgow-based Amazon customer, is among the complaints filed with the company. He said the move was a "big step backwards" in the fight against plastics.

"My husband is disabled and we rely heavily on Amazon and other home deliveries. Previously, our small orders arrived in easily recyclable cardboard packaging, but Amazon began a few months ago to use plastic envelopes. I recycle all packaging diligently, but I can not use it, "he said.

"Supermarkets have all dropped their transport bags from their online deliveries, but Amazon is doing the opposite: it's crazy. I asked them not to ship my orders using plastic packaging, but this falls on the ear of a deaf person. "

Amazon's Second Chance website, which explains how customers should recycle their packaging, indicates that Prime brand envelopes are "not widely recycled in the UK".

It is thought that Amazon ships between 4 and 5 billion parcels a year worldwide. In February, the Washington Post explained how Amazon's new envelopes were fouling US recycling centers, as consumers misplaced them in recycling bins.

On Monday, Amazon was among the 181 companies that adopted a new official definition of the reason for being companies in the United States, which gave up the sole goal of several decades of making the most profit for shareholders to defend the interests of other stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and the community.

This initiative, seen as a response to growing corporate criticism and traditional capitalism, included a commitment to protect the environment "by adopting sustainable practices". It was signed by Jeff Bezos, the founder and boss of Amazon.

Mike Childs, Policy Officer at Friends of the Earth, said, "Despite the outcry, the number of companies still using non-recyclable single-trip plastic for deliveries is astonishing.

"If we want to stem the flow of plastic pollution that darkens our environment, giant companies like Amazon must find ways to deliver in returnable and reusable packaging. And if they do not, the government should make them. "

This month, the new environmental secretary, Theresa Villiers, said the company "was asking for the right time to be" disposable "after the publication of figures showing the loss of popularity of plastic bags for single use.

Figures from the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have shown that the number of single-use plastic bags sold in major supermarket chains has declined by more than 90% since the # Introduction of the 5p tax in October 2015.

Amazon told the Guardian: "Our mission is to provide the best customer experience. We work with manufacturers around the world to continually improve packaging design and introduce new sustainable packaging that delights customers, eliminates waste and ensures products arrive intact and undamaged for our customers. She also said that she listened to the comments of her clients.

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