Amazon.com recognizes the importance of shipping your items so that they arrive in perfect condition, and we use a variety of packaging materials to protect the products you've ordered. But we also care about the environment, as do many of our customers. That's why we make sure our packaging materials are recyclable, and, where possible, made from recycled materials themselves.

The Box

Virtually every Amazon.com order is shipped in a corrugated container composed of 25 to 30 percent postconsumer recycled material. Once used, these containers are 100 percent recyclable for use in the manufacture of other paper products. Corrugated shipping containers are one of the most commonly accepted materials by either curbside recycling programs or at recycling centers nationwide.

The Pillows

The air-filled cushions sometimes used to protect the items in our shipments are 100 percent recyclable. They're made with either low-density polyethylene (LDPE, recycle symbol 4) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE, recycle symbol 2) resins. If your curbside recycling program doesn't accept them, most local recycling centers will.

The Peanuts

Some shipments may contain Flo-Pak polystyrene loose fill packing material, commonly known as peanuts. They're made from 100 percent recycled material (waste polystyrene), are nontoxic, and contain no substances--such as CFCs--that are harmful to the earth's ozone layer. Better yet, they're 100 percent recyclable. Check with your curbside recycling program to determine whether it accepts plastic peanuts. If it doesn't, peanuts can be recycled at thousands of locations nationwide, including many local pack-and-ship stores and gift shops. (These stores will often also accept and reuse your boxes.) To find the recycling center nearest you that accepts packing peanuts, call the Peanut Hotline toll free at (800) 828-2214.

Other Ways to Recycle

• Reuse packing materials for your own shipping purposes. Maybe you sold a CD or DVD via Amazon Marketplace. Or maybe you need to ship a collectible figurine you sold on Amazon.com Auctions. Instead of purchasing new packing materials, why not reuse the box and filler materials you received from your recent Amazon.com orders?
• Check with a local elementary school or senior art program. The Flo-Pak peanuts used in some of our packages are nontoxic and safe for use in elementary school art projects, collages, etc.
• Use Flo-Pak peanuts in your plant containers. Lining the bottoms of large planters with rocks provides excellent drainage, but rocks are heavy. Loose fill plastic peanuts, however, are lightweight and provide equally good drainage. They are nontoxic and won't harm your plants or flowers.
• Use Flo-Pak peanuts as filler material. They can be used to safely fill beanbag chairs and other items.

A Note About Oversize Shipments

To conserve packing materials, large items such as DVD players or grills may be shipped in their original box rather than an Amazon.com box. In most cases, these are corrugated containers that can be easily recycled, either via your curbside recycling program or at a recycling center. For recycling information on other materials used to pack these shipments, please contact the item's manufacturer.