Last Christmas, Amazon delivered us a disheartening (but not unexpected) gift, wrapped in non-recyclable e-commerce packaging. It was one of 4 million boxes and 1.3 million plastic bags it dropped off in Marin County last year.

In response to our enthusiastic letters, the Amazon Bay Area Public Policy Team informed us, “Amazon is not committed to reusable packaging at this time”. A pilot packaging reuse program in Marin County was not going to happen.

So, this Christmas, we have a gift for you, with no e-commerce packaging.

We, with the help of zero waste advocates and municipal lawyers, have drafted an E-Commerce Packaging Ordinance that can be adopted by individual cities. The ordinance requires all companies delivering orders in a specified jurisdiction to reuse their e-commerce packaging.

This ordinance is intended to make it expensive for e-commerce players to deliver orders with excessive packaging and to require the reuse of packaging.

Companies generating the largest tonnage of e-commerce packaging (think Amazon) will be enrolled in a regional E-Commerce Packaging Program and have their packaging removed from the local waste stream and returned to the company for a considerable fee.

This project comes out of a community desire to reduce the enormous amount of packaging that is being discarded today because of the growth in e-commerce.

The purpose of this ordinance is to force Amazon and other large e-commerce players to take an active role in the reduction of packaging waste.

The proposed e-commerce packaging ordinance is being reviewed by Bay Area waste management companies now for workability - and it’s getting the thumbs up!

Next, it will go to the legal departments of individual cities in northern and southern CA for review and adoption.

There’s no time, or packaging, to waste!

Carolyn Lund
Zero Packaging Committee, carolynelund@gmail.com

Photo: Good Eggs packaging set out for pick up and reuse