Amazon India has announced a research collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee to develop innovative non-wood packaging solutions using agricultural waste, aiming to reduce reliance on virgin wood pulp while addressing the challenge of stubble burning.
The joint project will focus on converting crop residues such as wheat straw and bagasse into high-quality pulp to create strong, lightweight paper mailers that are recyclable and home-compostable. The research, led by IIT Roorkee’s Department of Paper and Packaging Technology and the INNOPAP Lab, will begin with laboratory-scale development and testing over a 15-month period, followed by industrial trials and commercial production next year if performance benchmarks are met.
Abhinav Singh, Vice President of Operations at Amazon India, said the initiative supports a circular economy by repurposing nearly 500 million tonnes of annual agricultural waste in India, while IIT Roorkee Director Prof. Kamal Kishore Pant described the partnership as a step toward sustainable, scalable solutions aligned with national resource-efficiency goals.
Amazon noted it has already eliminated single-use plastic packaging since 2019 and aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across operations by 2040 under The Climate Pledge.
In Gangtok, the availability of durable, eco-friendly paper mailers could support sustainable logistics in hill regions, reduce plastic waste, and open new supply opportunities for agricultural-residue-based packaging materials.
