Amazon Go & Reducing Plastic Waste

Did you know that over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century? Or that annually, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide? That means more than one million bags are used every minute!

Most plastic waste ends up in landfills, or in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This presents a huge, multifaceted problem; economics, production, and design are only a few problems that play into this big problem. While the glass bottle movement, and the rise of reusable grocery bags, and trends towards recycled/sustainable packaging are moves in the right direction, the overabundance of plastic is really a design problem. How do we move away from the status quo of plastic being used in, well, everything?

The introduction of Amazon Go, a physical store by the famous online shopping company is remarkable for many reasons; no lines, no checkout, and an AI system in-store that automatically adds items to your online cart as you take them off the shelves. However, what may have escaped the notice of many is implied at least, in the introductory promotion video: no checkout=no more plastic bags in store. That is, at least, what I am hoping.

If grocery stores begin to refuse to bag groceries in plastic, it could be a big step towards reducing plastic production and waste. With the ultimate convenience store opening its doors to the public soon, and hopefully expanding across the nation soon after, it could be possible.