John,

Have you ever ordered something small from Amazon, only to have it show up in a too-big box padded with piles of inflatable plastic pillows? You're not alone -- by one estimate, Amazon's shipments generated enough plastic waste in just one year to encircle the Earth in plastic air pillows 800 times.1

Plastic pollution is flooding our oceans, overflowing our landfills, and threatening our environment. As the world's largest online retailer, Amazon must do more to reduce its contribution to the plastic waste crisis choking our planet.

Tell Amazon: Cut back on plastic packaging.

Amazon claims that much of the packaging the company uses to deliver goods is recyclable, either through curbside recycling programs for their cardboard packaging or store drop-off for its plastic packaging.2 But the truth is more complicated.

New research puts Amazon's recyclability claims to the test. Small tracking devices were placed in 93 bundles of Amazon plastic bags, bubble-lined plastic bags and air pillows. The trackers were then put in store drop bins across the country to see where they ended up.

The result? There was no evidence that Amazon's plastic is being widely recycled. Only four of the trackers ended up at a material recovery center that sorts items for recycling.3

Recycling can't solve Amazon's plastic waste problem, so the solution is clear: The company must reduce the amount of plastic it produces and uses in the first place.

Amazon should take responsibility for its plastic pollution. Add your name.

Amazon's excessive plastic packaging is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen. A lot of it is thin, flexible plastic -- which is especially deadly to turtles, whales and dolphins. Animals that accidentally eat the plastic film that ends up in the ocean can slowly and painfully starve to death.4

Amazon must find a way to deliver for its customers without creating so much wasteful plastic.

Plastic packaging is polluting our environment and killing wildlife. Urge Amazon to cut back on unnecessary plastic packaging today.

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. Jenn Engstrom and Celeste Meiffren-Swango, "Truth in recycling," Environment America Research & Policy Center, March 19, 2024.
2. "All Amazon.com packaging," Amazon.com, last accessed April 12, 2024.
3. Jenn Engstrom and Celeste Meiffren-Swango, "Truth in recycling," Environment America Research & Policy Center, March 19, 2024.
4. Graham Readfearn, "Deadliest plastics: bags and packaging biggest marine life killers, study finds," The Guardian, December 13, 2020.