Improvements on Waste Segregation

Amazon, to support the sales it makes via the Internet, has equipped itself with a large logistics infrastructure for distribution and delivery but especially with large hubs (warehouses of various sizes) in which to host the goods before the sale. This aspect is very relevant because, in order to offer delivery times on average fast and with the aim of competing with those of local shops, it is necessary to have large spaces in which to store goods as close as possible to the end customer. As in all warehouses, goods can deteriorate, break or arrive in large “packs” that contain smaller pieces. All this generates a large amount of waste that must be separated, properly stored in the premises before being sent outside for disposal. Large rooms with large internal operations, including that of automated operators such as robots and conveyor belts, in addition to the need to maintain suitable temperatures for staff and tools, require a large expenditure of electricity that must not be wasted to obtain reasonable costs. These aspects were detected during a series of inspections and detailed data analysis (which were anonymized for confidentiality reasons) during a long internship carried out at Amazon. The thesis in question starts from this context and aims to describe in detail how Amazon's warehouses are structured both functionally and dimensionally with a specific focus: to outline how to manage waste and to segregate in a more efficient way.