Amazon, IIT Roorkee Forge Alliance to Turn Farm Waste into Sustainable Packaging
Amazon, IIT Roorkee Forge Alliance to Turn Farm Waste into Sustainable Packaging
In a move that could reshape India's packaging and agricultural sectors, e-commerce giant Amazon has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee on a pioneering project. The collaboration focuses on transforming crop waste—a major source of seasonal air pollution—into sturdy, eco-friendly paper mailers.
The 15-month research initiative, based at IIT Roorkee's INNOPAP lab, will process by-products like wheat straw and sugarcane residue through an autoclave digester. The goal is to create a pulp that can be formed into lightweight, recyclable, and home-compostable paper, meeting Amazon's durability standards for packaging.
This effort directly addresses two pressing issues: India's heavy reliance on virgin wood pulp for packaging and the widespread practice of stubble burning, which blankets northern regions in toxic smog each winter. By creating a commercial market for this agricultural waste, the project also seeks to provide farmers with an additional revenue stream.
"Sustainability is an urgent national priority," stated IIT Roorkee director Kamal Kishore Pant. "This collaboration is a step toward realizing India's vision of a circular economy, aligning with missions like Swachh Bharat and the National Resource Efficiency Policy."
Amazon India's vice-president of operations, Abhinav Singh, emphasized the scale of the opportunity, noting India generates nearly 500 million tonnes of such waste annually. The company reports that over half its Indian orders already ship in minimal or original packaging, and it has eliminated single-use plastics from its fulfillment centers since 2019.
If laboratory-scale trials succeed, industrial testing and a commercial rollout could follow by late 2025. The research is led by Professor Vibhore Kumar Rastogi and Dr. Anurag Kulshreshtha from IIT Roorkee's Saharanpur campus.
This project follows other sustainable material innovations in India, including zero-waste bioplastics development at IIT Madras, signaling a broader shift toward circular economy solutions within the country's academic and industrial landscape.
Voices from the Ground
Priya Sharma, Environmental Policy Analyst, New Delhi: "This is precisely the type of industry-academia partnership India needs. It's a pragmatic approach that links environmental cleanup with economic incentive for farmers. If scalable, it could be a model for other agrarian economies."
Arjun Mehta, Smallholder Farmer, Punjab: "For years, we've been called polluters for burning stubble, but what was the alternative? This gives me hope. If companies like Amazon will buy our waste, it means extra income and a cleaner field for the next sowing season."
Dr. Lena Fonseca, Materials Scientist & Critic, Bangalore: "Let's not get carried away by corporate greenwashing. A 15-month 'research project' is a drop in the ocean. Amazon's global packaging footprint is monstrous. This feels like a PR stunt unless it's backed by massive investment and a firm commitment to replace a significant percentage of their virgin material use."
Rohan Kapoor, Supply Chain Startup Founder, Mumbai: "The technical challenge is real—making mailers from straw that are both strong and cost-competitive. If IIT Roorkee cracks it, the IP could be a game-changer not just for e-commerce, but for the entire FMCG packaging industry in India."
This report is based on information initially published by Packaging Gateway.
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