E-commerce platforms urged to reduce plastic use, explore sustainable alternatives

This photo taken on May 12, 2018 shows a dog on a garbage-filled creek in Manila. AFP / Noel Celis

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 12:44 p.m.) — As the holiday season draws near, environmental group Greenpeace called on the country’s largest e-commerce companies to reduce the use of unnecessary plastic packaging and adopt sustainable alternatives.

More and more people are shopping online than ever before because of the COVID-19 pandemic. E-commerce giant Lazada reported that Filipinos spent 420 million minutes shopping on the platform during its 12.12 sale last year, while Shopee said that 12 million items were immediately sold in the first 24 minutes of the sale.

The significant increase in e-commerce sale has led to an overwhelming amount of plastic waste, most of which will end up in landfills and are not recycled.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/09/09/2125968/e-commerce-platforms-urged-reduce-plastic-use-explore-sustainable-alternatives