Amazon has transitioned to 100% plastic-free packaging at its Euclid Fulfillment Center. These new paper bags will replace the plastic ones you may be used to seeing.Sean McDonnell, Cleveland.com
EUCLID, Ohio — E-commerce giant Amazon is replacing its plastic packaging with paper alternatives that are easier to recycle. And the first plastic-free packages are being shipped out right here in Northeast Ohio. Coffee Cup Paper Lid Machinery
The highly automated 650,000 square-foot Euclid fulfillment center is the first of Amazon’s facilities to become 100% plastic-free. People in Greater Cleveland and across the Midwest are already receiving the new paper and cardboard-based bags and boxes.
Mark Pfeifer, a principal program manager for Amazon, said the company has spent years developing the materials and machines used to make transition happen. One of the main goals, he said, was to use packaging that was easy for customers to open, and easier to recycle.
“Ultimately, it comes down to the customer,” Pfeifer said.
While plastic is recyclable, the plastic that comes with Amazon packages usually has to be taken to a drop-off center to be recycled. Pfeifer said they can’t be put in most curbside recycling bins.
The new packaging, whether it’s flexible paper bags or form-fitting boxes that look like popcorn bags, is 100% recyclable and can be put in curbside bins, Pfeifer said.
Pfeifer said doing this meant finding several solutions, because Amazon needed to retrofit existing machines and develop better material that was flexible and weather resistant.
Amazon has transitioned to 100% plastic-free packaging at its Euclid Fulfillment Center. A new machine makes custom fit boxes for items to reduce packaging.Sean McDonnell, Cleveland.com
One of those solutions is an automated machine that builds padded boxes that are made-to-fit with each item.
Products roll down a belt and onto the cardboard. Glue is rolled onto the cardboard before the machine folds the materials to the right size. Then the machine pinches the ends of box together and seals them.
The packages come out looking like popcorn bags, with flanges on each side. Pfeifer said the process not only eliminates plastic, but it also reduces the amount of packaging needed, because the boxes are made to fit.
Products go through a similar process at another machine, retrofitted to create paper bags instead of plastic ones. Like the first machine, products are loaded in by an employee before a bag is custom-made for whatever the product is.
Amazon will still use paper bags that are hand-packed and cardboard boxes for larger items or for when someone orders multiple items. But the plastic bags you may be used to getting from Amazon are no longer used at the Euclid facility, Pfeifer said.
The conveyor belts running through the warehouse still have some items wrapped in plastic. These are products that were packed by the companies selling them, and don’t require any additional packaging from Amazon, Pfeifer said.
Another way Amazon has historically used plastic is in air pillows, which were in put packages to provide a cushion to keep products safe. But these little bags filled with air had to be popped and then taken to a drop-off site. These are being replaced with paper filler.
An Amazon employee places a product into the automatic paper bag maker. These paper bags will replace plastic bags at the Euclid fulfillment center.Sean McDonnell, Cleveland.com
Amazon wants to reduce the amount of packaging it uses, Pfeifer said.
The company said 11% of all packages shipped globally were without added Amazon delivery packaging in 2022. Since 2015, Amazon said it reduced the amount of packaging weights used per shipment by 41%. It said that alone avoided using 2.1 million tons of packaging materials.
More than 100,000 packages on average come out of the Euclid fulfillment center each day. More than 2,000 employees work at the facility, where Amazon stores products, assembles orders and packages them before shipping.
Items ship from the Euclid fulfillment center across the Midwest. But Northeast Ohioans will still see plastic packaging, since customers get orders from multiple fulfillment centers.
Pfeifer said there isn’t a set timeline for when the rest of Amazon will transition away from plastic. He said the company wants to make sure its solutions are working before implementing them across the country.
Sean McDonnell covers business and consumer topics for cleveland.com. You can reach him at smcdonnell@cleveland.com You can read more Cleveland business stories at cleveland.com/business/.
Amazon's new paper-based packages, left, will replace its plastic packaging at the Euclid fulfillment center, seen on the right.Sean McDonnell, Cleveland.com
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