Amazon, Aldi Replace Plastic Packaging With Paper Products

Amazon and Aldi just announced two plastic-reducing measures in favor of more environmentally friendly paper.

Amazon said it would finally do away with its plastic “air pillows” by the end of this year. The company had previously indicated that it would get rid of them, but hadn’t given a firm date until last week.

That year-end goal is already within Amazon’s sights, as the company said it is 95% of the way to eliminating the plastic pillows.

Pat Lindner, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging for Amazon, said in a statement that Amazon is currently testing and developing new packaging that would be 100% curbside recyclable.

“Through our testing of paper filler – which included an assessment by a third-party engineer lab – we discovered that it offers the same, if not better, protection to products than plastic air pillows,” Amazon’s statement said. “The paper filler is also curbside recyclable, making it easier for our customers to recycle at home, and made from 100% recycled content.”

The process, which began last year in one of its facilities in Ohio, also included investing in new machinery specific to paper filler, and Amazon hopes that the decision will eliminate as many as 15 billion plastic air cushions every year.

Within the food and grocery sector, Aldi is moving away from plastic packaging on bananas in favor of a paper band in European markets. The program is currently being tested, and Aldi anticipates that it will eliminate approximately 234 tons of plastic waste annually, according to Packaging Europe.

“At Aldi, we know how important reducing plastic is to our customers, colleagues and the future of the planet,” Aldi plastics and packaging director Luke Emery said, according to Packaging Europe. “We are constantly reviewing ways we can do this, and our latest trial on bananas is another great step in that journey.”

These sorts of initiatives impact the print and promotional products industries, as printers and print distributors can sell items like printed paper packaging or product labels.

And these two are the latest in a string of companies taking steps to move away from plastic, most notably following Google’s sweeping announcement that it would remove plastic from its entire product line, complete with a nearly 70-page published strategy of how it will do it, and how other companies can follow suit to create a greener packaging landscape.