Amazon destroying millions of items of unsold stock in one of its UK warehouses each year

3 years ago
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Online giant Amazon is destroying millions of items of unsold stock every year, products that are often new and unused, ITV News can reveal.

Footage gathered by ITV News shows waste on an astonishing level - and this is from just one of 24 fulfilment centres they currently operate in the UK. Undercover filming from inside Amazon's Dunfermline warehouse reveals the sheer scale of the waste: Smart TVs, laptops, drones, hairdryers, top of the range headphones, computer drives, books galore, thousands of sealed face masks – all sorted into boxes marked “destroy”.

Our exclusive investigation has provoked a massive reaction. Our findings have been trending on Twitter in both the UK and US.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson didn't mince his words, calling it "an indictment of consumerist society", which he pledged the government would look into "straight away".

His voice has been joined by many others. Greenpeace called it "shocking".

Amazon said in a statement it is working towards a goal of "zero product disposal".

Original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxqz2g05MTI

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