[waste_monk]

Not being able to get stuff out of the warehouse in a timely manner would screw up the logistics big time though.

Maybe have outgoing boxes pass through some kind of ethanol misting system to sanitize them? with a catching tray to recirculate the condensed ethanol for reuse. Although the fire risks of such a solution would be somewhat worrying.

[krapp]

That would be a major undertaking given the size of the warehouses involved, would almost certainly interfere with the flow of packages somehow (which, unless it somehow speeds up logistics, makes it a non-starter,) and it would cost money that I guarantee you Amazon doesn't want to spend.

[waste_monk]

The way I envisioned it would be reusing off-the-shelf garden irrigation tubing and misting spray heads (polytube / LDPE, which apparently has excellent compatability with isopropyl alcohol so shouldn't melt as I understand it [1]) wrapped around key doorways that outgoing parcels travel through. Isopropyl would be sprayed from the doorways and deliver a fine mist onto packages as they pass through. E.g. as they pass through the loading dock.

Isopropyl is cheap and easily available in bulk quantities, this would only need a water hookup to mix it to 70% isopropyl (again, using commercially available garden equipment normally used to mix plant feed inline with a hose or irrigation system). Reclamation systems would be a little more work - would need some kind of reclamation dish and pump that doesn't interfere with carts etc. passing through.

Maybe it is impractical, but I still like the idea.

[1] https://www.calpaclab.com/ldpe-chemical-compatibility-chart/

[krapp]

It might not be a bad idea. But if it did work, I think it would work best integrated into the conveyor systems rather than the end points. Although that would make those systems more fragile, there would be a lot more time to expose packages to whatever process was necessary (and dry them) than there would be at endpoints.