As the world's largest online retailer, the packaging materials Amazon.com uses to ship their products have a huge impact on the environment. While the company has taken some admirable steps to reduce packaging waste (such as avoiding the use of styrofoam packing peanuts), the bubble wrap mailers they ship many of their products in cannot be recycled.

This means that millions of bubble wrap mailers are ending up in the landfill each year just from Amazon's items alone. As a leader in online retail, Amazon.com has the power to make a difference by switching over to recyclable padded mailers. These are cushioned with post-consumer newsprint, contain no plastic, and can be easily recycled in all municipalities or composted.

Not only would this reduce the amount of packaging being landfilled, it would also set an example for other online retailers.