{"id":8957,"date":"2019-07-22T15:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T20:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/?p=8957"},"modified":"2023-11-22T18:03:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T23:03:51","slug":"air-pollution-e-commerces-sustainability-problem-that-isnt-the-cardboard-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2019\/07\/22\/air-pollution-e-commerces-sustainability-problem-that-isnt-the-cardboard-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Air pollution: E-commerce\u2019s sustainability problem that isn\u2019t the cardboard box"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aileen Nowlan<\/a>,\u00a0Senior Manager<\/em>, EDF+Business<\/strong><\/p>\n

This post originally appeared on EDF+Business<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the click of a button, our groceries, clothes, personal care products, household items \u2013 just about anything \u2013 could arrive on our doorsteps in a neatly packaged cardboard box. It\u2019s convenience, delivered. But at what cost?<\/p>\n

What happens behind-the-scenes to get a package delivered to your door is taking a toll on our planet and our health. Freight is the\u00a0fastest growing source<\/a>\u00a0of greenhouse gases and a major source of local air pollution. The rise in e-commerce is a growing part of increased pollution and poor air quality.<\/p>\n

The truth is, \u201cfree shipping\u201d isn\u2019t really free. We\u2019re just paying for it in other ways.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More packages means more trucks, more trucks means more pollution<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you were to ask someone what the number one environmental issue facing e-commerce was, chances are they\u2019d say packaging. This makes sense \u2013 boxes are piling up in landfills and they are generating an\u00a0enormous amount of waste<\/a>. But another equally as important issue is worsening air pollution caused by long-distance shipping and last mile delivery moved by trucks. The problem is, air quality is a difficult issue to grasp given that it\u2019s invisible to the eye. Nonetheless, it\u2019s a growing challenge and it needs to be solved.<\/p>\n

To better understand the air pollution problem, let\u2019s break down the process of an online order. In a very abbreviated version, the order is placed, the product is packaged in the warehouse, it\u2019s prepared for shipping and it\u2019s sent out for delivery, chances are via a truck. Now multiply that process by \u00a01.92 billion<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 the number of people who will buy something online this year \u2013 and imagine the transportation required to deliver all those orders.<\/p>\n

Pollution caused by increased traffic is degrading our air quality, posing as a health risk for all of us. And, some groups are unfairly suffering the consequences more so than others.<\/p>\n