“Waste on an astonishing level” is how a British news channel has described what it has found after an exposé revealed that Amazon destroys about 130 000 unclaimed items a week – and that’s from one warehouse.
Through hidden camera equipment smuggled into the e-commerce giant’s storage facility in Dunfermline near Edinburgh, an in-depth investigation revealed that Amazon’s wanton destruction of unclaimed but much-needed stock was on an unprecedented scale.
Smart TVs, laptops, drones, hairdryers, top-branded headphones, computer drives, books and more are all carted off by the truckload, designated for destruction by Amazon.
In an interview with ITV News, an employee from the warehouse said it was becoming the norm for the Dunfermline facility to consign about 130 000 items a week to the proverbial rubbish dump.
“I used to gasp. There’s no rhyme or reason to what gets destroyed: Dyson fans, Hoovers, the occasional MacBook and iPad.”
He said recently, on one day, 20 000 unopened face masks had been sent to be trashed.
The exposé has led a leading supply chain portal to report that the only reason why such destruction is allowed, is because of Amazon’s “hugely successful business model.
“Many vendors choose to house their products in Amazon’s vast warehouses. But the longer the goods remain unsold, the more a company is charged to store them. It is eventually cheaper to dispose of the goods, especially stock from overseas, than to continue storing the stock.”
Since the investigation was made public, accusations of environmental malpractice are beginning to mount against Amazon.
Sam Chetan-Welsh of Greenpeace UK told ITV News: “It’s just an unimaginable amount of unnecessary waste. It’s absolutely shocking. Each of these items requires natural resources and carbon emissions and human labour to make.”
Chetan-Welsh appealed for immediate government intervention, claiming that this kind of disposal culture caused by a company’s business model must be reined in for the greater good.
Amazon has since stated: “We are working towards a goal of zero product disposal and our priority is to resell, donate to charitable organisations, or recycle any unsold products.”
Allegations that it’s sending items marked for destruction to landfill sites in the UK were refuted.
It didn’t say how goods are destroyed.
The investigation comes at a time when Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest person, prepares for the first space flight on July 20 of Blue Origin, his rocket company.
WATCH: Find the clip of the ITV News exposé here – https://tinyurl.com/2b6e959b
