Amazon destroying millions of items of unsold stock in the UK
Updated: Nov 22, 2021
Currently Amazon dumps most of its unused stock in the UK landfills.
Only 27 000 donations are made in comparison to over 120 000 products sent for a landfill within a specified time limit according to the itvnews undercover investigation.
Original investigation is here:
It is an absolute disgrace that unused and unsold products are thrown away like that instead of benefiting those in need.
So many people even in the UK queue up for food in the food banks because they can't afford to buy it. Let alone, other essentials apart from food.
These unwanted/unsold/unopened products could have been donated to local charities or sent abroad to people in need in Africa, India, Yemen, etc.
Also dumping so much waste is unethical, damaging and puts an extra burden on our environment.
Well, it is appalling.
People's reaction to this issue is very strong here on my Tiktok:
Some people raised the issue that "those products belong to amazon and they can do whatever they like with it". Ok, I agree but don't dump it here on my homeland, please, or anywhere else on Earth so that it would take hundreds of years to decay(sometimes thousands for certain materials) causing air pollution, soil erosion and other issues.
Others say "it is not amazon who is to blame for unwanted products being destroyed but the sellers". When you sign up to sell with Amazon, you can either ship the items yourself or choose to go for the fulfillment program run by Amazon in which case you send your stock to them and they will send it to the customer once the order comes through. The seller's stock is in Amazon's warehouse, not with a seller if the seller goes for the fulfillment programme.
Whatever Amazon's conditions regarding the storage charges, etc. they seller must comply. If he refuses to comply or withdraws, yes, Amazon will "label" that stock as "unsold/unwanted".
What gets me angry is the fact that they then dump it here causing so much environmental damage, let alone the fact that so many in need could have benefited.
I have created a petition on Change.org: http://chng.it/Nm5rcyGmSn
Sign it if you want to put a stop to this damaging practice.