With the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of many stores, sales through the Amazon site increased by 38% in 2020. At the same time, according to a recent survey by Oceana (an American NGO for the protection of the oceans), the number waste resulting from Amazon's plastic packaging has increased by 29% compared to 2019, reports

The Guardian

.

Thus, of these 271,000 tonnes of plastic waste, 10,000 would have ended up in the sea.

As the report indicates, Amazon had nevertheless made several commitments to limit this destructive pollution of the environment, through initiatives such as Amazon Second Chance aimed, for example, at providing information on ways to recycle its packaging.

However, according to the NGO, these efforts "will not significantly reduce its enormous and growing plastic footprint."

9% recycled packaging

In its report, Oceana notably claimed that the plastic film used by Amazon was not accepted in most US, UK or Canadian recycling programs. 75% of Amazon customers in the United States and Great Britain have sent their plastic packaging directly to the landfill. Conversely, 20% of them said they reuse this plastic. In total, 9% of Amazon plastic packaging has been recycled.

Informed of this study which involved 1,400 of their Prime consumers, Amazon, via a spokesperson, disputed these figures.

They would overestimate their actual plastic use by more than 300% and use outdated assumptions "about the sources of plastic waste entering our oceans".

Note that in France, Amazon recently announced its intention to stop using plastic sleeves by the end of 2021, in order to favor paper bags or cardboard envelopes, which are more easily recyclable.

Planet

Amazon will stop plastic envelopes in France by the end of 2021

Planet

Pollution: An American produces three times more plastic waste than a French

  • Planet

  • Ocean

  • Plastic

  • Amazon

  • Pollution

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