Amazon replaces plastic packaging: Here's what to know

Amazon is changing its packaging, ditching plastic in favor of recycled paper. Diana Olek is at an Amazon fulfillment center in Baltimore with all the details. Hey, Diana. Hey, Melissa. Yeah. After extensive testing with employees, consumers and 3rd party analysts, Amazon has put into motion one of its most ambitious sustainability efforts to date. They're basically saying goodbye to this and hello to this. It's Amazon's largest plastic packaging reduction in North America so far. Recycled paper is replacing the 15 billion plastic pillows used every year. They're difficult to recycle because first of all, you have to pop up, you have to pop it, and they can't go in a curbside recycling bin. Paper may also just work better than plastic. This paper is a little bit softer. It's made with 100 recycled content, post industrial as well as post consumer industrial recycled content. And that allows the the items to kind of cushion in there rather than bounce. In addition to losing plastic, Amazon is using AI to right size its packages by eliminating empty space in boxes. So it's an investment across automation, investment across material science, as well as machine learning and artificial intelligence. Now, we asked Linder how much this transition will end up costing Amazon. He wouldn't say exactly, only that some plastic bags are less expensive than paper bags. But this new technology, by simplifying the process and right sizing and automating the packaging, it allows Amazon to bring down that cost differential. But guys, I got to say, I still like the popping. You know, my kids, my kids love the poppy and they're really going to miss that. Diana, you mentioned before that they tested this among so many different parties involved in this whole supply chain. What were they? What were they testing? I would think that this is an easy swap. Well, to test to see if the products were damaged or not. They wanted to see if the plastic bubbles were actually better or worse than the paper. And what they found was that paper is actually softer. And when it's packed right and the boxes are right sized with the products that the paper actually protects your stuff better than the plastic, which is surprising because you think that the pillows would be more protective. But all that testing they found they weren't. Diane, appreciate that. Great look at a thing that definitely moves the needle in terms of manufacturing and distribution in this country are Diana Olla today.