Amazon’s Operations Innovation Lab Takes Giant Strides, in Vercelli, the first hub of the marketplace in Europe where innovative machinery for automated packaging is tested, with expansion plans already scheduled for next year. An interesting collaboration with Novamont, an Italian biomaterials company, is also leading to the experimentation of innovative bio-based bags for grocery deliveries.
What happens inside Amazon’s Italian hub
The Vercelli lab represents Amazon’s first European hub dedicated to testing innovative tools for the reduction and automation of packaging. It confirms Italy’s central role in the company’s experiments in this sector.
Further confirmation of this comes from the statements made by the Minister for the Environment, Gilberto Picchetto Fratin, who, during a visit to the facility, emphasized the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors in the innovation of sustainable packaging. Key partners present at the event included COMIECO, the Paper and Graphics Federation, Netcomm, and Novamont.
The lab is equipped with cutting-edge technologies based on robotics and artificial intelligence. Among the most interesting innovations is an automatic labeling robot that ships packages without Amazon adding packaging. There is also a new machine that creates custom paper bags by scanning items. This calculates the necessary amount for more efficient packaging.
Amazon is also experimenting with bags made from sustainable plant-based materials, such as corn starch and vegetable oils. The solution is being developed in collaboration with Novamont and is currently being tested for Amazon Fresh deliveries in Valencia.
Excellent results encourage further developments in packaging
The company is achieving significant results in reducing packaging. For example, over 50% of Amazon’s shipments in Europe today are delivered with reduced and recyclable packaging. Since 2019, over one billion shipments have been made without any additional packaging.
In 2023, 12% of global orders were shipped without additional packaging. In 2024, nearly 4 million products were certified for shipping with their own packaging.
A key role in this process is played by the Package Decision Engine, an AI model that determines the most efficient type of packaging for each item. Since 2015, Amazon has reduced the average weight of packaging per shipment by 43% in Europe, the United States, and Canada, avoiding the use of more than 3 million tons of materials.
In 2022, the company completely replaced single-use plastic bags with fully recyclable paper and cardboard packaging. In 2024, it introduced a new paper padded bag that saves an average of 44 grams of packaging per shipment.
Packaging and Italian companies: some brilliant examples to inspire you
The opportunity to present Amazon’s progress in this area is also useful for sharing some interesting applications made by other Italian companies in the packaging sector.
To do so, we can highlight the Best Packaging 2024 contest of the Italian Packaging Institute, which, in its last edition, awarded some of Italy’s packaging excellence, with particular attention to the accessibility of packaged products.
Awards from the latest edition of Best Packaging
Six different solutions won the award. Let’s start with Di Mauro Officine Grafiche for Puro Mono Film, a monomaterial stand-up pouch for personal care products. Thanks to a convenient flip-top cap, lightness, and transparency, it allows for easier use of the content until it is completely used up.
The award also went to Gruppo Happy for Spazio Zero. The solution consists of reusable boxes made with 50% recycled material, useful for transporting seafood products. Easy to assemble and stack, thanks to an interlocking system that also facilitates disassembly for sanitization.
A recognition was also awarded to ITP Industria Termoplastica Pavese for Freezy Peel. This is a bag for frozen food that features an easy-opening design that does not require scissors. The relevant instructions are provided with a clear infographic on the front of the package.
Among the most well-known brands awarded is Nestlé for the Orzoro Packaging. The package has an easily removable reclosable lid, thanks to two side tabs, and includes information in Braille.
Next, we mention the award given to Offmar for Wavebag, a monomaterial cardboard wave bag for e-commerce. The solution has a fold that facilitates the formation of the bottom. Another award went to Gruppo SADA for H2OBox, a cardboard container for transporting loose mozzarella with its liquid. When empty, it can be easily stacked, while the transport phase is facilitated by the handle.
An example for Italian sellers
These examples ultimately show how Italy’s sustainable packaging sector is continuing to grow not only in quantity but also in quality and innovation. Solutions that combine advanced functionality and eco-sustainability are finding more and more space in the market, not just nationally.
For Amazon sellers, these companies can represent strategic partners in the transition process towards more sustainable packaging. The perfect opportunity to offer products and specialized consultancy in order to optimize the entire packaging chain.
The latest news from Amazon: bio-based bags
Among the latest innovations at Amazon, we find bio-based bags for Fresh. These are food-safe wrappers made from plant materials produced in Europe. The main ingredients include corn starch and vegetable oils.
Amazon has been successfully experimenting with this innovation and is beginning to package and deliver groceries to customers in Spain using these bio-based bags, which one day may also be recycled to create new bags.
Features of the new bags
Amazon has introduced its new bio-based bags as durable, food-safe wrappers that are weather-resistant.
With these features, Amazon clearly hopes that the new material (Mater-biTM) will gradually replace fossil-based plastics used by retailers and food producers.
“Our new bio-based bags for Amazon Fresh provide protection against spills and condensation to keep food orders safe for our customers. At the same time, they are less impactful on the planet. They are made with renewable, food-safe materials derived from plants. Among others, corn starch and vegetable oils,” said Alan Jacobsen, Director of Materials and Energy Sciences at Amazon.
Unlike most petroleum-based plastic bags, these materials have the potential to be recycled more efficiently. They can also naturally break down in a composting environment.
75% of Amazon customers in Valencia who received the bio-based bags report being satisfied with the new packaging.
The new low-temperature recycling
Together with the Amazon Fresh and Novamont pilot project in Valencia, Amazon is working with the BOTTLE Consortium from the U.S. Department of Energy, led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), to develop a new low-temperature recycling process aimed at recycling biodegradable and bio-based materials.
This process breaks down bio-based and biodegradable materials into basic building blocks that can be repolymerized into new materials without degrading their properties, Jacobsen added.
Instead of resorting to composting as a solution for the end of life cycle of these materials, the new process allows biodegradable plastics to be efficiently recycled, keeping materials in use and reducing the need for additional raw materials.
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