Updated to reflect more information from Walmart
Walmart’s annual shareholders meeting and associates week are back in town, and there’s already some recycling news to show for it.
Walmart has announced several initiatives to reduce waste and plastic use in online shopping:
- Switching from plastic mailer envelopes to recyclable paper ones;
- Right-sizing cardboard shipping boxes at fulfillment centers and offering customers the option to consolidate their online shipments, which helps avoid lots of empty space and unnecessary cardboard;
- Letting customers opt out of using shopping bags for online pick-up orders later this year.
Walmart has major goals to switch to recyclable or compostable packaging throughout its stores over the next several years — and they also chipped in the grant that makes NWA Recycles possible. And this announcement is a good step in that direction because it hits multiple key points: swapping less recyclable materials like plastic for more recyclable paper and wasting fewer of the recyclables in the end. The company said it expects the changes to eliminate 2,000 tons of plastic waste by the end of the fiscal year.
“Our commitment to regeneration is core to who we are and how we innovate at Walmart,” said Karisa Sprague, senior vice president, Fulfillment Network Operations, Walmart U.S. “Customers have told us how excited they are about these enhancements to make it easier for them to make more sustainable choices that support the planet and the next generation.”
