{"id":399632,"date":"2020-12-15T07:03:08","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T12:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?p=399632"},"modified":"2020-12-15T07:03:08","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T12:03:08","slug":"amazons-big-role-in-ocean-plastic-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/amazons-big-role-in-ocean-plastic-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon\u2019s Big Role in Ocean Plastic Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Company Generated More Than 211 Million Kilograms of Plastic Packaging Waste in 2019 According to Report by Oceana<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

\n Oceana calls on Amazon to address its contribution to the plastic disaster that is devastating the world\u2019s oceans and marine life and provide its customers with plastic-free choices<\/em>\n <\/p>\n

TORONTO, Dec. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Oceana has today released a report \u2013 based on an analysis of e-commerce packaging data \u2013 that found Amazon generated 211 million kilograms of plastic packaging waste last year. This is comprised of the air pillows, bubble wrap and other plastic packaging items added to the approximately seven billion Amazon packages delivered in 2019, according to news accounts.1<\/sup> The report found that Amazon\u2019s estimated plastic packaging waste, in the form of air pillows alone, would circle the Earth more than 500 times.<\/p>\n

The study also, by combining the e-commerce packaging data with findings from a recent study published in Science,<\/em>2<\/sup> estimates that up to 10.18 million kilograms of Amazon\u2019s plastic packaging waste entered and polluted the world\u2019s freshwater and marine ecosystems in 2019, the equivalent of dumping a delivery van payload of plastic into the oceans every 70 minutes.<\/p>\n

It also found that Amazon\u2019s Canadian plastic footprint is disproportionately large, generating an estimated 21.3 million kilograms of plastic waste in Canada in 2019 \u2013 1.2 times more than in India, and more than Japan, Brazil, Spain and Mexico combined. The online retail giant has cornered 48 per cent of the Canadian e-commerce market, with estimated sales in 2019 exceeding $9 billion (CDN).<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazon is ubiquitous in Canada. Unfortunately, so is plastic packaging, which makes up about half of our total plastic waste,\u201d said Josh Laughren, Executive Director, Oceana Canada. \u201cGiven how much value Amazon is getting from Canadian consumers \u2013 including from people in remote communities where few other options are available \u2013 it has a moral obligation to offer plastic-free packaging to ensure this doesn\u2019t come at a great cost to the health of our oceans and environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of plastic waste generated by the company is staggering and growing at a frightening rate,\u201d noted Oceana\u2019s Senior Vice President, Matt Littlejohn. \u201cOur study found that the plastic packaging and waste generated by Amazon\u2019s packages is mostly destined, not for recycling, but for the landfill, the incinerator or the environment including, unfortunately, our waterways and sea, where plastic can harm marine life. It\u2019s time for Amazon to listen to its customers, who, according to recent surveys want plastic-free alternatives, and make real commitments to reduce its plastic footprint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plastic is a major source of pollution and is devastating the world\u2019s oceans. Recent studies estimated that 90 per cent of all seabirds3<\/sup> and 52 per cent of all sea turtles4<\/sup> have ingested plastic. Sea turtles and other ocean animals mistake the kind of plastic used by Amazon as food, which can ultimately prove fatal. Scientific reports have estimated that only nine per cent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled and 91 per cent has ended up in landfills, incinerated or in the environment, including the oceans.5<\/sup> The rapidly growing plastic pollution crisis needs to be solved by major plastic polluters like Amazon taking steps to reduce plastics, rather than making empty claims about recycling.<\/p>\n

The report discloses that the type of plastic often used in packaging by Amazon, referred to as plastic film, is effectively not recycled, despite the company\u2019s claims of recyclability. Most municipal curbside recycling programs in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom do not accept this kind of plastic.<\/p>\n

The report also found that:<\/p>\n