10,000 tons of plastic packaging waste produced by Amazon polluted the oceans

In the past two years, many countries have opted for containment to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic. During this period, many people turned to online shopping sites for their shopping. Amazon is among the most popular in this industry.

While the business has been going well for the company, the waste it has generated has also increased. According to a new report from the international non-profit organization Oceana, Amazon would have created more than 271,700 tons of plastic packaging waste in 2020. Of this waste, more than 10,659 tons would have ended their race in the oceans around the world.

According to the report, the latter figure corresponds to the load of a delivery truck dumped into the oceans every 67 minutes.

Amazon disputes the report

Following the release of Oceana’s report, Amazon made a statement that the calculations were ‘seriously flawed’. According to Amazon, the organization overestimated their plastic use by more than 300%. Additionally, the company believes the organization used outdated assumptions about the sources of plastic waste that drains into the oceans.

In a sense, Amazon may be correct in believing that the numbers Oceana gives are not accurate. Indeed, if we refer to data from the Plastic Waste Makers Index, Amazon is not one of the 20 companies responsible for most of the plastic dumped in the oceans. Typically, those responsible for this waste are petrochemical companies such as Sinopec, ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical. According to the Index, nearly 20% of single-use plastic waste worldwide comes from these three companies.

Proportions compared to global figures

The Plastic Waste Makers Index primarily reveals the sources of single-use plastic items around the world, and it is the companies that produce the polymers used in their manufacture. It’s not about companies like Amazon that use plastic for packaging. According to the Plastic Waste Makers Index, companies like Amazon will have to use something else for their packaging if petrochemical companies produce less single-use plastic.

Each year, around 7.9 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the oceans while the plastic waste dumped there by Amazon amounts to around 10,000 tonnes. Thus, this is a small fraction of the world total.

Either way, it looks like Amazon is already making efforts to produce as little plastic waste as possible. The company said it was making ʺ rapid progress in reducing or eliminating single-use plastics ʺ from its packaging. On the other hand, its objective for 2040 would be to achieve a zero carbon footprint.

SOURCE: Business Insider