- Kyle Chua
Amazon Singapore Shifts To Recyclable Water Bottles To Package Frozen & Chilled Products
Amazon Singapore is saying sayonara to gel packs as it shifts to a more sustainable packaging solution for its frozen & chilled products – recyclable water bottles.
Now, when you order products like meat, seafood and ice cream on Amazon Fresh, they’ll be packaged with frozen water bottles, which the company said can maintain freshness while minimising waste. Singapore is the first country in Asia to introduce this initiative for Amazon customers.
Amazon said they did extensive research on frozen water bottles, making sure it was able to provide the same cooling effect as gel packs in Singapore’s tropical climate. The company added that the solution was also tested for its ability to preserve the freshness of products while maintaining the packaging’s integrity during shipping.
The water bottles in the packaging can, of course, be used again after you’ve received your orders and stored them in your fridge, unlike gel packs, which you’ll likely just dispose of.
For example, you can wait for the ice in the bottle to melt and drink the water. And, yes, according to Amazon, the melted ice water in the bottle is indeed safe to drink. So you can take it with you to, say, the gym and use it to keep yourself hydrated.
Alternatively, you can use them to water your plants if you have some or cook with the water. You can also repurpose them to store different types of items. Amazon encourages its customers to get creative and find new ways to recycle the new packaging solution.
The initiative is another step in furthering Amazon’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and adopt sustainable solutions that help save the planet. In 2019, it co-founded The Climate Pledge with Global Optimism to encourage businesses to reach net-zero carbon by 2040 – a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050. Amazon is looking to have half of its shipments be net-zero by 2030.