Amazon eliminates 15 billion plastic air pillows
Technews Industry Guide: Sustainable Manufacturing 2024
Electrical Power & Protection
By Heather Clancy, VP and editor at large, GreenBiz Group.
Amazon has replaced its single-use plastic air pillows with recycled paper in 95% of its delivery boxes in North America. The move will cut an estimated 15 billion of these cushions annually. Approximately 40% of Amazon orders were shipped like this. The Seattle-based retailer had cut 37 150 tons of plastic packaging since 2020, but it still used 85 916 tons of single-use plastic in 2022. Eliminating the pillows represents Amazon’s biggest plastic reduction yet. The company is phasing out single-use plastics across its worldwide delivery network. It has eliminated extra packaging completely by shipping about 11% of items in their original boxes.
“Wherever we can, we use recycled content. But sometimes automation technologies make that more challenging,” said Pat Lindner, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging at Amazon. “Even if you can collect them, used air pillows are difficult to recycle because they often jam sorters. Paper and other fibre products are suitable alternatives.” Aside from being eligible for curbside recycling, paper absorbs drops and other stresses more effectively than pillows. ”Paper fills ‘crumple zones’ and absorbs energy from impacts, rather than allowing items to bounce around,” said Clint Haynes, vice president of Stress Engineering, which helped Amazon replace the air pillows.
Amazon tested the changes in an innovation centre near its Seattle headquarters. The company replaced the feeders for the plastic air pillows with canisters that dispense the paper. “Our new process gives employees more flexibility, and allows them to be more thoughtful about their packaging,” concluded Lindner.
Further reading:
Emissions pressures are not just hot air
Electrical Power & Protection
Dennis Williams, commercial director of AES says that the South African government aims to push towards global standards in emissions, but it might be difficult for our industries to carry the financial burden. This is where AES fits in.
Read more...
ABB achieves zero operational emissions
ABB South Africa
Electrical Power & Protection
ABB’s factory in Oiartzun, Spain, has reached a major sustainability milestone.
Read more...
Energy cannot be destroyed, it can only be transferred
Schneider Electric South Africa
Electrical Power & Protection
Industry produces significant amounts of waste. Unfortunately, a lot of this waste is simply disposed of, usually impacting the environment. What if these byproducts could be transformed into a source of energy?
Read more...
Dual head safety pull switches with expanded cable span
Electrical Power & Protection
Referro Systems has added the latest Dual Head range of Allen-Bradley’s safety pull switches to its portfolio. It is ideal for protecting long stretches of equipment where quick access to a safety pull switch and emergency stop is vital.
Read more...
Producing solar hydrogen without platinum
Electrical Power & Protection
A research team led by Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, has presented a new way to produce hydrogen gas without the scarce and expensive metal platinum.
Read more...
Energy-efficient perimeter cooling system for small, medium and edge applications
Electrical Power & Protection
Vertiv has enhanced the Vertiv CoolPhase Perimeter PAM air-cooled range with new ratings of cooling systems and Vertiv CoolPhase Condenser.
Read more...
High-quality DC/DC brick-type converters
Vepac Electronics
Electrical Power & Protection
PowerGood’s high-quality DC/DC brick-type converters are engineered for exceptional reliability, making them the ideal power conversion solution for demanding, high-end applications.
Read more...
SF6-free pure-air medium voltage switchgear
Schneider Electric South Africa
Electrical Power & Protection
As South Africa intensifies its move towards cleaner, smarter energy systems, solutions like Schneider Electric’s globally recognised SF6-free GM AirSeT pure-air medium voltage switchgear is taking the country one step closer to achieving its decarbonisation goals.
Read more...
South African businesses can alleviate energy price crisis
Electrical Power & Protection
While grid instability remains a concern, the immediate and most critical driver of South African commercial and industrial investment in renewable energy is the escalating cost of electricity.
Read more...
Real-time modelling is the key to a resilient, bi-directional energy grid
Schneider Electric South Africa
Electrical Power & Protection
Utilities and municipalities are facing a challenge as the country’s legacy power grid, engineered for one-way energy delivery from centralised suppliers to end-users, must rapidly evolve to meet a new paradigm.
Read more...
printer friendly version