This increase in e-commerce packaging has led to an increase in the amount of waste across the country, and the increase in waste has challenged local recycling programs as shutdowns and changing rules make it more expensive to recycle than ever before. Steps like these mean it is less likely that customers will actually recycle each portion of their packaging; despite Amazon’s efforts to make most items recyclable, materials still often end up in the trash or recycled incorrectly, causing more harm than good. Because these e-commerce companies profit while creating immense waste, so too do they have a responsibility to clean up that waste, whether it be by improving the ease of recycling for their consumers or investing financially in recycling infrastructure.