16-Year-Old Indian Activist Files Petition Against Amazon and Flipkart for Using Ridiculous Amounts of Packaging

We’ve all been there. We’d order one little thing online only to have a massive package land up at our doorstep, often with packaging material being ridiculously bulkier and heavier than the product ordered itself. Some of us might upcycle the cardboard, plastic and bubble wrap but most times, we discard it all—a momentary feeling of guilt and frustration accompanying the waste.

But now, a 16-year-old boy from Delhi has filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal against Amazon and Flipkart for their excessive use of plastic when delivering products.

According to a copy of the petition, the e-commerce companies are being called out for their excessive use of plastic, bubble wrap and cardboard when delivering goods.

Aditya Dubey, the 16-year-old environmental activist, filed the petition to ask tribunals to implement strict guidelines on the plastic use of companies. Dubey has been campaigning for the environment for over three years.

He told The Times of India (TOI) that when these e-commerce giants deliver goods to their customers, “even if the item is unbreakable, they put it in cardboard box double the size needed (for the product). Then typically there are three more layers of cover and even the invoice also comes in separate plastic. That’s really excessive.”

A hearing for the matter could be held next week.

Both the companies in question told TOI that caring for the environment and reducing single-use plastics was important to them. Flipkart said they plan to eliminate single-use plastics in their packaging by 2021.

On October 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a speech in Ahmedabad on how India would phase out single use plastics by 2022. However, whether this will happen remains unsure as government officials are now saying that the ban would be “too disruptive” for the industry amid the current economic slowdown and rising unemployment.

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