Amazon is getting rid of plastic air cushions in North America

Amazon is on track to completely remove plastic air cushions from its North American delivery packaging. On thursday, the company announced which has replaced 95% of plastic air cushions with paper padding and plans to stop using plastic air packaging by the end of this year.

This change will eliminate nearly 15 billion plastic air cushions annually, according to Amazon. Unlike older packaging, the paper filling is made with 100% recycled content, which should allow customers to easily recycle the material at home. Amazon says the paper padding “provides the same, if not better, protection.”

Despite switching from single-use plastic bags in Europe It is India In addition to using custom-made paper packaging in Australia and Japan, Amazon has been slow to transition to paper in the US. Last year, Amazon ditched plastic packaging at an Ohio warehouse, replacing plastic mailers and air cushions with recyclable paper packaging.

A recent report from conservation nonprofit Oceana estimates that the company will generate 208 million pounds of plastic waste from its packaging in the U.S. in 2022. While Oceana welcomes Amazon’s commitment to end plastic air cushions, In North America, she recognizes that there is still more work to be done.

“While this is a significant step for the company, Amazon needs to build on this momentum and deliver on its multi-year commitment to transition its North American fulfillment centers away from plastic,” Matt Littlejohn, senior vice president of initiative Oceana’s strategy, says in a statement. The organization would like Amazon to phase out single-use plastic packaging “everywhere it sells and ships.”