According to the report, Amazon produced more than 320,000 tons of plastic in one year.

THEM Amazon is the world’s largest e-commerce company, but that could be bad news for planet Earth. According to a new report published by the global maritime activists organization Oceana, Jeff Bezos’ company generated approximately 321,000 tons of waste in 2021. plastic packages.

The report points to an 18% increase from the forecasts recorded in 2020 – at that time there were 271 thousand tons. The amount of plastic is so high that it would be possible to circumnavigate the Earth 800 times using the waste..

The data shows that Amazon refuses to make a commitment to reduce waste despite knowing that tons of plastic end up in the environment. At Amazon’s Annual General Meeting in May 2022, nearly 49% of shareholders voted in favor of a strategy for the company’s plastics transparency.

“The science is clear, the type of plastic Amazon uses in its packaging is a threat to the oceans. Customers and shareholders want the company to take action. Matt Littlejohn, SVP of Strategic Initiatives at Oceana, said in a statement that Amazon is stepping up and packing plastic packaging, just as it did for the climate. “It’s time to commit to reducing its use globally.”

Amazon and plastic packaging

Unfortunately, the waste is responsible for affecting the lives of seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles – images of animals trapped in plastic debris are often posted. However, there is a real problem in terms of human health as plastic consumption is now commonplace.

In response to Oceana, Amazon said the report’s figures were unrealistic, claiming it only produced 97,000 tons of plastic in its global operations.

Amazon has released figures for the first time on the amount of plastic used in packaging, but the NGO says the information is inconsistent with reality. Data published by Amazon refers only to shipments made at Amazon distribution centers, but the Oceana report represents all sales on the platform.