Amazon rejects claim it sends millions of unsold products to landfill

Leaked footage appears to show numerous items of stock being sent to be destroyed

Amazon said it was 'committed to reducing our environmental footprint'. Reuters

Amazon said it was working to reduce the amount of unsold stock it sends for recycling, after undercover footage from a warehouse was released.

On Monday, British broadcaster ITV reported that the multinational sends millions of items of stock a year from one of its UK warehouses to a landfill site. Amazon has rejected that it gets rid of unused products in that way.

Undercover footage from the centre in Dunfermline, Scotland, revealed that such products included laptops and hairdryers, as well as books.

A whistleblower told of a company target to "destroy" 130,000 items a week. Unopened boxes of Covid-19 face masks and iPads were among products reportedly sent for recycling, with the former staff member estimating that “50 per cent of all items are unopened and still in their shrink wrap” when discarded.

Amazon said it was “working towards a goal of zero product disposal and our priority is to resell, donate to charitable organisations or recycle any unsold products”.

“No items are sent to landfill in the UK. As a last resort, we will send items to energy recovery but we're working hard to drive the number of times this happens down to zero,” the company said.

“We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and building a circular economy programme with the aim of reducing returns, reusing and reselling products and reducing disposals.”

The Fulfilment Centre in Dunfermline – where goods are stored and shipped to customers – is one of 24 similar Amazon sites in the UK.

Sellers often store their products in Amazon's warehouses for a fee. But if goods remain unsold, the company might decide it is more cost-effective to destroy the stock.

It's been estimated that less than one per cent of products were sent for energy recovery.

The Department for Opportunities, a social mobility movement, described ITV’s report as “shocking”.

“Firms like Amazon could end laptop poverty in a heartbeat if they wanted to. We advise Amazon to donate instead of 'destroy'”, it said.