The online delivery service company Amazon has stated that it will be going plastic-free in all of the Amazon hubs in India. Disposable plastic packaging materials such as bubble wrap and packing tape will be eradicated from delivery boxes and packages.
In substitution of those packaging materials, products will now be protected by paper and packing tape will be replaced with paper tape that contains no amount of plastic properties and residue.
Other retail companies such as Walmart and Flipkart will also be making corresponding changes to the way they package their products. Walmart will be converting to recycled and reprocessed plastic packaging for their products and goods by early next year.
Flipkart, likewise, has reduced its total plastic usage by half its usual expenditure of plastic packaging in the past month.
The official announcement
This is all due to an online announcement made last year on September 4, 2019 in Amazon India's official website. The announcement consisted of India's shift to plastic-free packaging by June 2020 and the country's protocol on the matter.
The delivery boxes will be made of materials that do not have any plastic properties. Moreover, they can all be recyclable as well. The Asian country's more than 50 Amazon facilities have been meaning to make the switch to plastic-free packaging.
This is because of India's struggle with its plastic waste and how the nation has an ominous amount of it in its landfills. The headquarters of Amazon India have decided since to seek ways to eliminate and eradicate the usage of plastic materials in their products and packages.
Read Also: Tesla New Feature Spotted? Model S is Testing Out Sensors for Autopilot!
Amazon India's solution
India's Amazon has been searching for substitutes of packing tape, bubble wraps, package mailers, and plastic wrapping. With these tapes made of adhesive paper and product protectors made of paper, the country might have just solved that matter.
The leftover plastic materials used in packaging have been subject to recycling. They are made into items that are used on a long term basis. This accumulation and recycling of plastic materials has been done since late last year in September 2019.
The Vice President of Amazon India, Akhil Saxena, stated in the online announcement that the company has been executing this plastic-free packaging protocol with the utmost attention and care.
As of September 4, 2019, the packaging materials used by Amazon India only amount to almost 7%, reducing the amount of plastic waste in the Asian country.
The announcement also included four factors of eco-friendly and plastic-free packaging. Below is a list of the four factors.
Paper cushions will be used for the cushioning of all products in all Amazon India hubs instead of plastic material by the end of 2019.
Tote bags will be used in delivering 60% of all Amazon packages.
13 cities in India will be utilizing PFS (or package free shipment).
By the middle of 2019, products that were packaged in another company's packaging will be delivered to customers using only those packaging materials.
