Amazon’s 2020 Recycling Solution – January 2020

When Jeff Bezos won Time Magazine’s Person of the Year Award in 1999, even Bezos himself had no idea how huge or profitable Amazon would become. Now that environmental activist Greta Thunberg has become Time’s 2019 Person of the Year, we are reminded of the juggernaut of a problem Amazon has helped to create. Problem? What’s the problem? Amazon’s pricing is competitive, the selection is superior, and the convenience is simply addictive. Growing at more than 30% each year for over 20 years, it is now one of the largest companies in the world. And it’s well on its way to becoming number one. So, what’s the problem? Amazon is a huge burden on our environment. Let me explain the three reasons why as well as how Amazon might consider mitigating them.

Number One: Too many shipping boxes. As I clean up after a wonderful Christmas with my family, I come to realize the majority of the 4 loads of leftover trash is primarily packaging. The bulkiest are those Amazon boxes that showed up day after day, one gift at a time. The Amazon model simply produces too much trash.

Number Two: When delivery is free, as it is for Prime members, people abuse it. They become wasteful. People don’t consolidate their orders because they don’t have to. There is no incentive. How much gas did those 14 deliveries burn dropping off one or two items at a time? A lot of gas. If I had driven to the mall for my Christmas shopping, I would've wrapped it up in one or two trips. Just like I used to. Amazon could stage a fuel consumption comparison to prove their model is more efficient. But why would they? They earn 30% on every order. Reducing the number of deliveries is not a priority for Amazon right now.

Number Three: Recycling is getting to be more difficult. And Amazon is not helping. Example: With too much holiday trash to fit in my city provided trash cans, I called for a special pick up. Sorry! They don’t offer special pick-up services for recyclable items in the city of LA. Okay, so now what? I guess I could take it to the dump. Sorry! It turns out the recycling center in Santa Monica is permanently closed! With no date set to reopen. And the operator I get does not know of one near Pacific Palisades. So, I’m SOL! How am I supposed to recycle without a recycling center?

One of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes is “Discontent is the first step in making progress”. Well I’m totally discontent with my high consumption of wasteful packaging and my inability to recycle it. So, what’s the solution? Amazon! Amazon is the solution and I truly hope Jeff Bezos is listening.

A Proposed 2020 Recycling Solution for Amazon:

1. Transform Whole Food Markets into Amazon location hubs and mini-recycling centers.
2. Allow Prime members to accept their goods without the outer shipping boxes at the store whenever possible.
3. Reward patrons with incentives to buy at Whole Foods when they pick up items or drop off packaging for recycling. 

This may not solve global warming, but it sure would have a positive impact on the reduction of packaging waste. And it would definitely reduce the number of Amazon deliveries. With over 100 million Prime Members, Amazon has a rare opportunity to profit from solving a problem it has helped create, and in the process get Jeff Bezos named as Time's Person of the Year. Again!

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