By Avani Prakash
When we are in need of an item and are too lazy to leave our house, many of us go to the most convenient option: Amazon. Amazon has almost every product imaginable, and ordering from the company has become a significant part of our lives. Amazon Prime now has more than 100 million members and is constantly mailing packages to people’s homes.
Because of Amazon’s success, they are using tons of packaging materials that people don’t know how to properly dispose of. In 2018, Amazon launched a Frustration-Free Packaging Program which has eliminated over 665,000 tons of packaging material. Amazon’s sustainability efforts could go even further if people receiving their items know what to recycle and what not to recycle.
Listed below are common Amazon packaging materials and ways to recycle them, if possible.
Paper padded mailers and paper envelopes are recycled just like any other paper or cardboard product. They are accepted by most curbside recycling programs.
Brown Packing Paper is accepted by most curbside recycling programs.
Paper mailers with air bubble padding are not recyclable. They should be put in the garbage.
Cardboard boxes and cardboard folders are accepted by most curbside recycling programs. Tape should be removed from before being placed into the recycling bin.
The West Windsor Township recycling program does not accept plastic bags of any kind. Amazon’s bubble-lined plastic bags or any plastic bags can be dropped off at certain stores in West Windsor to be recycled. The same goes for plastic packaging including Amazon's air pillows. Some of the stores that recycle plastic materials include McCaffreys, Target, and Walmart. To find more information about where you can drop of your plastic bags to be recycled, visit https://www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/recycling-bags-and-wraps/find-drop-off-location/
11/21/21 edit - adding categories
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