Greenpeace accuses Amazon of destroying unused goods in Germany

Greenpeace has accused Amazon of destroying products that can still be used and sold, despite new laws passed by the Bundestag last year preventing this practice from taking place.

Greenpeace accuses Amazon DE

Greenpeace has accused the retail giant Amazon of destroying products that can still be used and sold. The accusations have been made on the back of a video recording, taken by a Greenpeace researcher who worked at the Amazon logistics centre in Winsen in Lower Saxony. According to Greenpeace, the video shows products in their original packaging being sorted for destruction.

Greenpeace said that, just at the Winsen location, at least one truckload of unsold goods was destroyed every week. Greenpeace highlighted the “duty of care” law, passed last year in the Bundestag, which aims to prevent returned goods, that are intact and can still be used, from being thrown out. However, the law seems to have not been implemented or upheld by local authorities.

Amazon reject allegations

Amazon, for its part, has rejected the allegations. In a statement, the online retailer said: “Only when we have no other option do we give articles for recycling or energy recovery - or as the very last option - for landfill.” The international company also announced that there is "no process for cutting up fashion items before handing them over to a disposal company" and had no plans to implement such a system.

As for the video, Amazon said that it had provided “one-time unusable goods” for a “test run with a new partner in Winsen." Since then, all the materials used have been processed into new products.

“Amazon relies solely on quick sales and therefore considers the space on the shelf to be more important than the product in it - a waste of resources that is harmful to the climate," said Greenpeace consumer expert Viola Wohlgemuth. Wohlgemuth called for politicians to act, “Destroying new goods must become a criminal offence during this legislative period."