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!
