One fact – if you’re viewing this, chances are you are using something made of or from plastic. It’s in everything from our phones to our clothes to our food packaging. In fact, plastic is so ubiquitous that it’s become one of the biggest environmental issues of our time.
But fortunately, several organizations are already taking steps to mitigate plastic damage to our planet. It could be you know of several already. But is the world’s largest retailer on the list? Does Walmart recycle plastic bags and bottles?
Well, that’s a question we’ve heard several people ask. And today, we’ve got this article to give you a comprehensive answer. So, if you are a Walmart faithful and want to know if you can take some of the plastic bags and bottles for recycling, keep reading to know!
Does Walmart Really Recycle Plastic Bags And Bottles?
Yes, Walmart recycles plastic bags and bottles. Walmart offers How2Recycle Drop-Off locations in all of their stores to allow customers to drop off plastic bags and bottles, whether from Walmart or any other retailer for recycling.
So, if you’ve got some plastic bags or bottles lying around and you don’t know what to do with them, take them down to your nearest Walmart store for recycling.
Walmart remains the world’s largest retailer. However, all her efforts don’t just go into making profits. The company is also aware of its responsibilities to the environment and takes active steps to mitigate the damage caused by its operations.
Actually, Walmart is one of the world’s leading pioneers of sustainable practices. The company has set several sustainability goals, one of which is to achieve zero waste in their operations. And they’re on track to achieving this by 2025.
The retailer is one of the founding members of the Closed Loop Partnership, an organization that seeks to develop circular economy solutions. They’re also a founding partner of the Sustainability Consortium, an international body that develops tools and methodologies to help businesses make more sustainable products.
Through the Closed Loop Partnership, Walmart and other organization members have created the Beyond The Bag Challenge. This challenge seeks to find innovative and sustainable alternatives to plastic shopping bags.
So, as you can see, Walmart is doing a lot to reduce their environmental impact. And their efforts to recycle plastic bags and bottles are just a part of this. In fact, the company goes beyond self, and that’s why it accepts plastic bags and bottles from any retailer, not just Walmart.
So, whether you have from Walmart, Target, Kroger, Safeway, or any other store, take them down to your nearest Walmart for recycling.
Does Walmart Have a Recycle Bin in Their Stores?
Yes, Walmart has recycle bins in their stores for recycling plastic bags and bottles. The recycling bins are located at the entrance of their stores, so they’re convenient and easily accessible to everyone who wants to drop any of these items for recycling.
Customers are increasingly demanding that businesses become more environmentally responsible. That’s by showing their commitment to sustainability efforts, like recycling. As a result, more and more businesses are now offering recycling programs. And Walmart is one company that’s responding to this demand.
So, by placing their How2Recycle bins at the entrances of their stores, Walmart is making it easy and convenient for customers to recycle plastic bags and bottles. And this is a good thing because it encourages people to recycle rather than throwing these items away in the trash.
What Does Walmart Do With Plastic Bags and Bottles?
The plastic bags and bottles you drop off at Walmart’s How2Recycle bins are sorted and recycled into new products. Hence, by recycling your plastic bags and bottles through Walmart stores, you’re not only helping to reduce waste, but you’re also helping to create new products. And that’s a win-win for everyone involved.
One thing you have to know is that plastic comes from petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource. So, recycling plastic bags and bottles can reduce our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels. It also reduces the amount of plastic circulating in the environment.
That’s essential, especially now that plastic isn’t one of the materials that break down completely. Hence, the need to recycle it rather than throwing it away.
When you recycle plastic bags and bottles, you’re not only helping to reduce pollution and conserve resources, but you’re also helping to create new jobs. In fact, the recycling industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
Can You Take Reusable Bags To Walmart?
Yes, Walmart takes reusable bags. In fact, some Walmart stores have already put an end to the use of plastic bags. Customers are highly encouraged to come with their reusable bags for use in their in-store shopping. Alternatively, they can also have the reusable ones inside the store.
Single-use plastic bags are among the top ten items we find on beaches and waterways. That’s according to the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) report by Ocean Conservancy.
According to the organization, it collected 23 million pounds of trash in its cleanups. Of this trash, the collected plastic bags were enough to make capes for 1,056,514 superheroes.
That’s a lot of harm to beaches, coastlines, and waterways, and that’s why Walmart and several other organizations are putting every effort, including accepting the use of reusable bags as a way to combat this growing crisis.
But again, environmental reasons aren’t the only thing driving this change. There’s also the fact that plastic bags are expensive, and they’re not very durable. So, by encouraging customers to use reusable bags, Walmart can save money in the long run.
But ultimately, the goal is to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bags, and that’s something everyone can get behind.
Is Walmart Charging For Bags Now?
Whether Walmart is charging for bags differs from one store to another. Different stores are using different strategies to encourage customers to use reusable bags. For some, reusable bags are free but returnable. However, for others, reusable bags go for a small fee. So, it all depends on the store you’re shopping at.
The Beyond The Bag campaign comes with one common question, “What next if we stop using plastic bags?” Well, different strategies are being employed to help shoppers switch from plastic to more environmentally-conscious reusable bags.
For instance, Store 2280 in Mountain View, California, has a special strategy to address the issue. The store uses the GOATOTE program, where customers use a mobile app to “check out” reusable bags. The bags here are absolutely free but returnable within 30 days. Failure to return the bags will result in a $2.00 charge being applied to their store account.
Well, that’s just one of the strategies some stores use. Others outright ban plastic bags and instead ask customers to bring in their reusable bags or purchase them at a small fee.
What Does Walmart Accept For Recycling?
Walmart accepts a wide range of items for recycling. This includes plastic bags, bottles, plastic toys, worn clothing, ink cartridges, office supplies, and many more. Always place the item you want to be recycled in the appropriate collection bin.
Plastic bags and bottles are major contributors to pollution, so recycling them is very important. However, they aren’t the only things that harm the environment.
We’ve several others. And since the campaign is against environmental pollution and not necessarily anti-plastic bags and bottles, there are several other items that you can recycle at Walmart.
For instance, you can take in your worn clothes for recycling. These clothes will be shredded and used to make things like insulation, carpet padding, and other textile products. Others include ink cartridges, office supplies, and many more.
However, it’s worth mentioning that all stores don’t have the same recycling program. So, it’s always advisable to call your local store to inquire about their recycling program and what items they accept. But for the plastic bags and bottles, you can be sure that all stores accept them.
How Many Plastic Bags Does Walmart Use in a Year?
Walmart hasn’t expressed how many plastic bags they use in a year. However, considering that they’re the biggest retailer in the world, it’s safe to say that they use a lot. But with the efforts they’re already putting towards phasing out single-use plastic bags by 2025, their plastic bag use keeps reducing yearly.
Retail stores are among the biggest users of plastic bags. In fact, Americans use about 100 billion plastic bags each year. That includes all plastic bags, whether from Walmart, Target, Kroger, or any other store.
Kroger stated that it distributes about 6 billion bags to customers per year. So, with Walmart being larger than Kroger, the number should be bigger since they aren’t yet fully into reusable bags.
Even so, with the effort and measures they’ve put in place to reduce plastic bag use, it’s safe to say that their use of plastic bags is significantly reduced and will continue going down each year.
According to the company, it aims at zero waste by 2025. As such, it works with different organizations to help it achieve its goal.
Final Verdict
Walmart has gone beyond just talk to ensure that they reduce their use of plastic bags. The retailer has set How2Recycle Drop-Off locations in all its stores to help shoppers recycle different types of plastic. Some stores even go the extra mile to accept other items like office supplies and clothes for recycling.
So, if you want to help in the fight against environmental pollution, ensure you recycle all your plastic bags and bottles at Walmart. Depending on the program in your local store, you can also take other items for recycling.
