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Amazon is a fantastic online retailer thats taken over the online shopping world because allows you to order goods directly from their website, for fast delivery straight to your door.
But what do you do with the packaging when it arrives? It’s important to recycle your Amazon packaging in order to help protect the environment and landfill space. With millions of people shopping online, it’s a huge waste to simply throw away your delivery boxes and bubble wrap.
You’ll find that majority of the packaging is recyclable and can be easily recycled with your everyday household waste. Recycling Amazon packaging is really important as it will reduce both litter and landfill pollution, whilst also contributing to your local council’s Waste Management targets.
How to recycle your Amazon packaging
Amazon is a large corporation that boasts a variety of products, from books to toys and electronics, with their website offering a vast range of options for sale. The company offers an environmentally friendly shopping experience through the use of recycled materials to create the packaging for their products. It’s now possible to recycle your Amazon packaging as well as helping reduce landfill pollution in your local area.
The majority of Amazon’s packaging is made out of recycled materials and is fully recyclable. However, there’s a variety of packaging and you might not know how to recycle each. The guide below will show you how to recycle the various Amazon packaging.
Bubble-lined plastic bag
Some items come in bubble-lined plastic bags so that you can be certain the product will arrive in perfect condition. It’s important to keep these bags for recycling as they can be reused for bubble-lined packaging again, or recycled through the city council waste collection.
According to the Amazon website, several cities offer curbside recycling and will collect your bubble-lined plastic bags. For the cities that don’t offer this service, you’re allowed to enter your zip code and search for a drop-off centers that accept and process the plastic film in this packaging.
Cardboard boxes
A large number of Amazon products are delivered in a cardboard box. These are usually made out of brown corrugated paper and can be easily recycled at your local recycling center or even curbside recycling. Some will even accept these boxes in the same way you would dispose of any other cardboard box. There’s no need to leave the cardboard boxes to rot away in a landfill, when they can be more easily recycled.
It’s recommended that you remove any taping and flatten the box before recycling. If you’re unsure, check with your local government for guidelines on how to prepare cardboard boxes for recycling as well as other key instructions.
Paper padded envelope mailer
Padded envelopes are easy to recycle just like most paper items. As a matter of fact, you can put these in the recycle bin for curbside pickup. With that being said, some municipalities have limitations on what materials they allow to be recycled, so it’s worth checking with your local recycling center for more information on what you can recycle.
Packing paper
A number of items will be delivered wrapped in packing paper. This type of Amazon packaging is fully recyclable and can be recycled with your curbside recycling program or taken to the local recycling center.
Air pillow
Air pillows are used to protect items such as books, DVDs and electronics. It’s important to keep the air pillows protected so that they don’t end up in a landfill. You can place them in your recycling bin or you can look for another way to dispose of the air pillows.
If you’re unsure as to how to recycle these, check with your local government where you will learn more about how to recycle air pillows.
Since they contain a plastic film, some municipals don’t allow you to recycle the air pillows with the curbside waste. In this case, you’ll want to a drop-off center to recycle the air pillows. Visit your local authority, such as your city office to learn more about how you can recycle the air pillows in your area or check online for drop-off locations.
Bubble-lined envelope
This is a special kind of bubble-lined plastic bag that’s used for shipping small, fragile items. It’s important to understand that there are different kinds of bubble-lined envelopes and not every type of Amazon packaging is recyclable. These envelopes come in various styles including padded, reinforced and square.
You can declare the envelope as general household waste or recycle it with your curbside recycling program. Check with your local government to find out if the envelopes are acceptable for curbside collection. If not, put them in the trash.
Prime Now Gel pack
These gel packs keep the product protected during shipping. However, they’re not recyclable as they’re made of plastics. These can either be thrown away in the garbage or recycled through your local recycling center.
If you don’t know how to recycle these gel packs, check the packaging and if there’s nothing else written on it, then you can recycle them with your curbside pickup program or put them in the trash.
Final Thoughts
Landfill sites are typically filled with a variety of items that can be recycled, so it’s important to recycle your Amazon packaging. Some of the more common Amazon packaging is fully recyclable and can be taken to a local recycling center, while others must go in the trash as they’re not recyclable. It’s critical to check with your local government to find out what you’re able to recycle and also what you have to do before recycling. You might have to remove certain labels or separate different kinds of waste.
FAQs
Can i reuse Amazon Packaging?
It depends on the type of Amazon packaging. In general, you can reuse most packaging items if you know how to recycle them. In some cases, it might be effective to use the same Amazon packaging multiple times. For example, bubble-lined plastic bags are reusable as long as they’re not torn and they don’t have any rips or holes in them.
What are the benefits of recycling Amazon packaging?
The best benefit of recycling Amazon packaging is that you’re taking an environmentally friendly approach to how you dispose of your waste. Recycling is a green approach to waste disposal as it helps to conserve our natural resources and also reduce any pollution through landfills. By recycling your Amazon packaging, you’re making a difference.
What can you recycle?
Not all Amazon packaging is recyclable but there are a number of items that you can easily recycle. For example, cardboard boxes are easy to recycle at home or you could take them to a recycling center in your area.
