It's not uncommon to feel a little baffled after opening an online order — but one Amazon customer was especially stunned when a single battery arrived buried in an oversized cardboard box.
What's happening?
A Reddit user posting in the forum r/EgregiousPackaging shared a photo of their recent Amazon delivery: a lone Duracell battery shipped in a box much larger with additional crumpled packaging to prevent the battery from rattling.
"A huge box AND package cushioning for a battery? What a waste," wrote one commenter.
This delivery, while baffling, is not an anomaly. Rather, excessive packaging is a major issue that is hurting the environment and consumers.
Why is excessive packaging concerning?
To be environmentally friendly, businesses should try to limit the amount of resources they use to only those that are necessary. Extra cardboard, plastic, and packaging materials end up in landfills, even when they are barely used.
Consumers must also break down and dispose of oversized boxes, plastic fillers, and hard-to-recycle wrapping. These add additional and sometimes confusing steps to the disposal process. For renters or folks without easy access to recycling centers, a single small purchase can translate to a big trash headache.
Excessive packaging is also not cost-effective. Larger boxes cost more to ship, occupy more space on delivery trucks, and require more labor to prepare. These costs eventually are paid by the consumers in the price of goods.
Is Amazon doing anything about this?
Amazon has acknowledged the packaging problem before. In 2021, the company claimed it had reduced single-use plastics in consumer packages by 7% globally and shifted many items to recyclable paper mailers. Amazon's "frustration-free packaging" initiative also encourages sellers to ship items in their original packaging without additional boxes.
But based on the continued stream of Reddit threads like this one, inconsistent implementation is still a problem. Without clear standards or stronger enforcement across its marketplace, incidents like the battery-in-a-box situation remain common.
What's being done about packaging more broadly?
Globally, different governments are passing laws that aim to limit the use of unsustainable packaging practices. India has banned single-use plastics. And cities like New York have introduced packaging reduction incentives.
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When you think about a product's packaging, which of these factors is more important to you?
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The way it looks 😍 As consumers, we can help by consolidating purchases into fewer shipments or choosing retailers with sustainable packaging policies. Also, when faced with piles of packaging waste, there are ways to donate or reuse materials instead of sending them to the landfill.
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