Government 'considering law change' after Amazon found binning unsold goods
ITV News Correspondent Richard Pallot reports on how a law change in France could be used here to tackle waste
Boris Johnson has spoken out against Amazon’s piles of waste for the second time since our findings amid talk of legislation to stop binning unsold goods.
Undercover filming from inside an Amazon warehouse reveals the sheer scale of waste, which includes Smart TVs, laptops, books and sealed face masks – all sorted into boxes marked “destroy”.
The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday he is “shocked and amazed” by our reports.
He added: “I think the whole House would agree the practice is bizarre and unacceptable.”
Amazon’s practice is not illegal under current UK law, but it is believed that Parliament may act to outlaw this kind of waste.
In France, they've already done so, making it against the law to send unsold non-food products to waste - businesses must instead reuse, recycle, or redistribute everything to those in need.
Amazon's practices on the other side of the Channel triggered that change - but the politician behind it is far from optimistic .
Asked if she believes the law is forcing a change in the online retail giant there, former French environment minister Brune Poirson told ITV News: “No, I don’t think Amazon is changing.
“Otherwise, you would not have found what you found out in the UK.
“With the law we passed in France a couple of years ago, amazon should have started to change the way it works and the way it does business. It hasn’t, your work proves it.”
Amazon UK say they are changing towards the circular economy and that nothing goes to landfill.
In a new statement, it told ITV News: "We do not send a single item to landfill in the UK. Every year we donate millions of products to charities across the country. We’ve got more work to do but our goal is to get to zero product disposal.“But 124,000 items did get sent for destruction at their Dunfermline warehouse in just one week.
It compelled environmental activist Greta Thunberg to chime in, tweeting: “If you have a system where this possible - and even profitable - that’s a clear sign that something is fundamentally wrong.”
It comes after another whistleblower came forward alleging Amazon dumps thousands of unsold items.
Speaking anonymously, a former Amazon employee at a Hertfordshire centre said the issue is widespread in the company.
"Lots of things from brand new iPhones to PlayStations, we got rid of brand new books," he told ITV News.
"You felt like you just wanted to say to them 'look, this should be going to people that need it not going into a bin.'"
Asked if he believes unsold items are dumped across other centres, he said: "In every single facility it happens, trust me, it does.
"I worked in one specific facility, but I knew other people who worked in others and they said exactly the same thing."