The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Amazon caught up in ocean plastic pollution report
Amazon generated 211 million kilograms of plastic packaging waste last year, according to an analysis of ecommerce packaging data by Oceana.
That mass of air pillows, bubble wrap and other plastic material added to the reported seven billion Amazon packages delivered in 2019 is detrimental to the world's marine life, the Toronto organization said Tuesday in a news release summarizing its report.
The study, by combining e-commerce packaging data with findings from a recent study published in the journal Science, estimates that up to 10.17 million kilograms of Amazon's plastic packaging waste polluted the world's freshwater and marine ecosystems in 2019.
It also estimated that Amazon's Canadian plastic footprint is disproportionately large, generating about 21.3 million kilograms of plastic waste in 2019 – 1.2 times more than in India, and more than Japan, Brazil, Spain and Mexico combined.
“Amazon is ubiquitous in Canada. Unfortunately, so is plastic packaging, which makes up about half of our total plastic waste,” said Josh Laughren, executive director of Oceana Canada, in the release.
“Given how much value Amazon is getting from Canadian consumers, including from people in remote communities where few other options are available, it has a moral obligation to offer plastic-free packaging to ensure this doesn't come at a great cost to the health of our oceans and environment.”
Oceana says recent studies estimated that 90 per cent of all seabirds and 52 per cent of all sea turtles have ingested plastic, and scientific
reports have estimated that nine per cent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled and 91 per cent has ended up in landfills, incinerated or in the environment, including oceans.
Oceans suggests Amazon's plastic waste and pollution impact will drastically increase, given analysts' recent estimates that its sales will increase by more than a third in 2020.
The report calls on Amazon to reduce its plastic footprint and eliminate plastic packaging, as it has done in India. It says the retailer should also increase the number of products shipped in reusable containers and adopt policies that can be demonstrated to reduce plastic pollution.
Oceana describes itself as the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana Canada was established as an independent charity in 2015.