Good news on reducing plastic: Companies hear the call for change

I bet you’ve seen them.

I’m talking about those plastic “air pillows” that become trash as soon as you open a package from Amazon. And with Amazon delivering more than 1,000 shipments per minute, that’s a lot of wasted plastic.

But here’s the good news: You likely won’t see them anymore. 

That’s because last year PIRG helped win a commitment from Amazon to phase out plastic air pillows from its shipments in North America by the end of 2024 and eliminate plastic-padded shipping bags —  a huge victory for our health and environment.

How did we do it?

First, volunteers took action to uncover where Amazon’s plastic packaging ended up after being dropped off for recycling, and the results weren’t pretty. Even packages that have the “chasing arrows” recycling symbol end up at garbage facilities, and sent to landfills where they’ll sit for hundreds of years, breaking down into microplastics and polluting the soil and water of our great-grandchildren. 

Then, tens of thousands of PIRG supporters signed our petition pressuring the company to do better, helping to show Amazon that consumers care about how much waste comes with their packages. 

All the while, our national network was working on a public advocacy campaign to convince Amazon to use less plastic and switch to sustainable alternatives. 

And it worked. Amazon made commitments that will keep tons of plastic out of landfills and the environment, and already less plastic packaging is being mailed to customers. This will save an estimated 15 billion plastic air pillows from being used every year.

That’s the impact you helped make when you called on Amazon to come up with a better way to protect the things they ship. 

But the challenge isn’t over yet: We’re continuing to hold Amazon accountable to its promises, and campaigning for the company to fully eliminate its wasteful single-use plastic packaging.

Amazon has yet to set a deadline for when it will eliminate plastic-padded shipping bags, or make a commitment to eliminate the remaining single-use plastic used in its shipments, including other plastic film. Amazon should do everything it can to reduce plastic waste as quickly as possible, and we’re watching to see that it keeps making progress. 

Getting rid of wasteful plastic is an ambitious goal, even for one company, and one company’s actions won’t solve the entire problem. But, each time a major company commits to eliminating its plastic waste, it paves the way for another to follow suit.

We’ve seen this ripple effect work before. One in three Americans now lives in a state with restrictions on harmful single-use plastic — an achievement earned by persistent, small steps toward a healthier, cleaner world.

This makes a real difference. You make a real difference, one that we see in cleaner parks, streets, beaches and waters, decreased exposure to toxic materials for humans and wildlife, and less waste choking our planet. 

Now, we’re calling on Costco to follow Amazon’s lead. Costco uses a huge amount of unnecessary plastic packaging for small products. If Costco committed to adopting a more sustainable packaging policy, it would reduce plastic waste by thousands of pounds. 

So, will you tell Costco to reduce plastic waste this Earth Day?