New automated packaging machines create paper bags of the right dimensions on demand.

In recent years, Amazon has replaced single-use plastic delivery bags with 100% recyclable packaging materials (paper bags, cardboard boxes and cardboard envelopes) for orders shipped through its European distribution network.

The company has also replaced single-use plastic air cushions with 100% recycled and 100% recyclable wrapping paper.

The company is currently testing new automated packaging machines capable of packing each item in a customized paper bag, on demand, thus reducing the volume of packaging for several thousand daily orders.

Design made in Amazon

Amazon's in-house packaging specialists came up with the technology by modernizing machines previously used to create plastic packaging.

These had been decommissioned when Amazon stopped using single-use plastic delivery bags in its distribution centers across Europe. To adapt the machines, Amazon's engineers had to add new components enabling them to process fine coated paper instead of plastic.

"Our materials science experts have developed a paper that is both lightweight and strong, which stretches, resists the weather better and is easily recyclable in the selective sorting process," comments Thais Blumer, European Sustainable Packaging Manager at Amazon.

Scanning and volume calculation

Each bag is produced by the machine at the last moment to adjust the packaging dimensions to the contents, without additional padding. Thanks to an integrated sensor, these machines scan the items to calculate the volume of paper needed to wrap the items.

Each bag is then heat-sealed, with no empty space around the contents. This eliminates an average of 26 grams of packaging per shipment. The fact that no glue is used to close the packaging also reduces the amount of raw materials used.

The first machines used in production, at Amazon's distribution centers in Mönchengladbach (Germany) and Bristol (UK), have already been used to pack several thousand dispatched items.

RENAUD CHASLE Stratégie Logistique