Amazon.com became famous for selling nearly everything — as well as its easy online returns process. What's not so easy are its effects on the planet. Amazon is responsible for a huge amount of merchandise returned every year — which, in turn, is responsible for a huge amount of waste. In 2021, whistleblowers working at Amazon warehouses in the UK explained that corporate management wanted them to destroy 130,000 items each week — just in Great Britain alone. That adds up to more than 6.5 million products over the course of just one year. Even worse: Amazon itself admits that some of its returned items are marked for "energy recovery." That means incineration.
The process of "energy recovery" involves burning products at high temperatures until they convert into heat, fuel, or electricity. This can emit serious chemicals and heavy metals into the air we breathe. Current and former warehouse workers say the list of items marked for destruction was staggering. Such merchandise included brand-new books, iPhones, laptops, TVs, and video game consoles in perfect condition, and even completely sealed face masks. Not all returns go into the incinerator: some wind up in landfills, polluting our Earth instead. Amazon spokespeople claim the corporation is "working toward a goal of zero product disposal," but has refused to set a date for achieving this goal.
There are so many alternatives: the corporation could actually re-sell the items (as consumers already believe it does), or even donate them to charitable organizations. With a recession plunging more and more people into poverty, now is the perfect time to put those returned items to good use. Anything less is insulting. Burning returned items is not the way to go. It can poison our Earth, our lungs, and our health. And just as importantly: it's grotesquely wasteful. Tell Jeff Bezos his company has got to do better. Sign the petition if you agree!
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