US online shopping giant Amazon is trialling bio-based delivery bags in Spain and developing new technologies to recycle bio-based materials.
The trial involves the use of bio-based bags made from vegetable materials produced in European, including corn starch and vegetable oils, which could potentially be recycled into new bags, the company said on 16 January.
Developed by materials specialists at Italian company Novamont - part of Versalis (Eni) - with support from Amazon’s materials experts, the first trials of the new bags were being piloted for Amazon Fresh orders in Valencia.
Amazon said its bio-based bags were durable, food safe and weather-resistant and the new material, Mater-bi, could progressively replace fossil-based plastics used by food retailers and manufacturers.
As the bags were biodegradable, they did not generate microplastics, the company said.
“Our new Amazon Fresh bio-based bags provide protection against spills and condensation … and … are less impactful for the planet because they are made from renewable, food-safe materials derived from plants, like corn starch and vegetable oils,” Amazon’s Materials & Energy Sciences director Alan Jacobsen said.
“Unlike most petroleum-based plastic bags, these materials have the potential to be more efficiently recycled, while also being able to naturally degrade in a composting environment.”
Amazon said it would use the results of the trial to assess if the new bio-based bags could be used on a wider scale.
