Walmart’s California operations have diverted more than 80 percent of their waste from landfills, and the program that produced these results is being implemented across all of the company’s 4,400 stores, Walmart said yesterday.
The program will be put in place in all Walmarts, Sam’s Clubs and Walmart distribution centers in the U.S. Extending the 80 percent diversion rate across the country will help Walmart prevent more than 11.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, equivalent to taking more than 2 million cars off the road, the company said.
The retailer said its eventual goal is to create zero waste.
“We are proud of the progress we are making toward our zero waste goal, but realize we still have more work to do,” Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon said. “We are committed to actively finding and developing solutions that are both good for the environment and good for business.
“Through this program we are able to provide the raw materials needed to make new products, recycle millions of pounds of commodities and reduce the environmental impact of landfills,” Simon added.
Walmart began implementing and tracking its waste reduction efforts in California in 2009. The California initiative has three main components: recycling, re-use and donations.
The company recycles cardboard, paper, aluminum, plastic bags and roughly 30 other items through its “super sandwich bale” (SSB) program. In sandwich baling, loose plastic such as shrink wrap, garment bags and grocery bags are sandwiched between layers of cardboard and bundled together in bales, which are sent to certified processors for recycling. This process prevents millions of pounds of trash from being sent to the landfill and saves Walmart millions of dollars, the company says.
Items not eligible for the SSB, including wood pallets, polystyrene plastic and apparel, are sent to Walmart’s return centers for reuse or recycling. Styrofoam gets recycled into photo frames, which are then sold at Walmart stores. Last year, Wal-Mart launched a program with pet product manufacturer Worldwise, to recycle plastic bottles, hangers, bags and cardboard into items such as dog beds, litter boxes and scratching boards.
Wal-Mart also uses expired food to create animal feed, compost, and biofuel for energy production.
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Source: Environmental Leader