Most everyone knows and uses Walmart as their local shopping center. Lately, Walmart has made some pretty big changes. They recently decided to remove plastic bags from the check-out stations at all their stores.
Removing Plastic Bags
Walmart had made a goal recently to be a zero-waste company. That is a massive goal and will take a few years to get in place.
One way to achieve that goal is to stop using plastic bags.
Plastic bags are not good for the environment and it’s time for this change.
According to Walmart, “A shopping bag is at the center of the final interaction of almost every in-store purchase – be that your weekly grocery trip, a quick milk run or back-to-school shopping. While the convenience of the plastic retail bag cannot be disputed, the average working life of one of these bags is only 12 minutes. It’s estimated that 100 billion plastic bags are being used annually in the U.S. alone, and less than 10 percent of them are recycled.”
This goal to stop using plastic bags will take around three years to complete.
Beyond the Bag
To achieve their goal, Walmart has teamed up with “Beyond the Bag” a company that finds ways to eliminate plastic bags that are better for the world.
CVS Health, Walmart, and Target are all a part of this mission.
Beyond the Bag shares their plan of “identifying, testing and implementing viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag.”
How You Can Help
You can help with this initiative too!
Beyond the Bag is wanting to hear your ideas on how to eliminate plastic bags. If you have a creative idea for a new eco-friendly bag, be sure to submit your thoughts!
You can go to Beyond the Bag Challenge to submit your ideas.
Submissions are due by September 10th as they will start getting to work after that.
Plastic bags are just one part of Walmart’s ultimate goal to be zero waste. Are you excited or dreading this new change?
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127 comments on “Walmart is Removing Plastic Bags From All Their Stores”
First you took away paper bags because they where bad and then tell us plastic bags are better then now there bad. I would like a discount for checking myself out.
The plastic bags used by Walmart are inferior and rip before you get them out of the store. It is useless to trust your contents will spill onto the floor, parking lot, etc trying to load your groceries. Anytime they wish to stop providing bags is fine with me, providing I haven’t purchased an item that leaks.
I use the plastic bags in small trash cans, I recycle it that way and then burn them.
Need to go back to paper bags. Less trouble and at least they hold up and can be reused.
Is Walmart taking disposable diapers off the shelves. These have far more plastic in them than the bags. I reuse the plastic bags for many things especially in my kitchen garbage can. Cats litter box.
Paper bags use to bring in bugs
What are they planning on using? You want the customer to check their self out and now you want them to carry their stuff they purchased in what????
Make paper bag and plastic bags and any other items biodegradable
First you take away clerks and now you want to take away the the shopping bags. Well I will be taking my business elsewhere. Thank you very much.
Agree 100%
Will be shopping elsewhere
Good luck at that other store they have self scans also
Then they will need to supply customers with biodegradable paper bags.
Go back to brown paper bags, as they were recyclable. Why did we ever go to plastic bags, or anything else if they weren’t recyclable? We humans ruin everything. We are the ones destroying everything!!
You don’t remember? We went plastic because we were killing trees for the paper. So, now we go back to killing trees.
I’m suspicious of Walmart CEO’s motives. Is it really about the environment, or is it a way to cut costs so they can benefit from the profits? They already make us check ourselves out and now we will have to bring our own bags? I better see some serious price cutting or I’ll start shopping elsewhere. In addition, I reuse those sacks to carry lunch, line the bathroom trash can, pick up dog mess when walking them, and as packing substitute for bubble wrap.
They will do like Aldi-charge for paper bags or the plastic/silicone/whatever shopping bags with handles. I am in SC and Aldis is charging 12¢ per paper bag and 69¢ for the other shopping bags. I don’t buy groceries from Aldis, but I do get some items there that I can’t find anywhere else. And to top it off, I am in the middle of the state, plenty of people, but we are down to Food Lion, Aldi and Walmart food stores. We do have Publix and Kroger, but they are about 15 miles away. I also recycle those plastic bags. And while I, too, am suspicious, it is more of this Beyond the Bag that is heading this with other retail outlets.
Why not recycle the bags. We have a grocery store that has a bin for used plastic bags. When customers come to the store they would bring their old bags and put into the bin for recycle
I saw in the news that our local Walmart recycle bags end up in land fill’
I have mixed feelings…..yes we can do without plastic bags on the other hand if we buy just one item…on the go…..the plastic bag does comes in handy…..
So, I use them when I clean out the kitty litter. Will I be able to use the “beyond the bag” to do this too?
I buy the brown paper lunch bags and clean my cat litter box into a bag, seal it and put it in the trash can outside.
While I agree that plastic bags are TERRIBLE for the environment and should be gone, let’s look at ho we got here: Years ago, some environmentalist group wanted to save (trees a superbly renewable resource) and worked to have them removed from stores and replaced with plastic bags. The Law of Unintended Consequences kicked in and we had plastic bags all over the environment. Now in many places, we’re back to paper. We use reusable bags; hope that’s enough!
Use bags made from Hemp! It is biodegradable, cheap, durable strength, without mold or mildew.
My daughter in law gave me a bag that shows the following: LYNNHAVEN RIVER NOW .. restoring a legend … then under that it says:
I used to be water bottles.
Don’t mind bringing my own bags but they’re so bulky they take up space in the cart. Perhaps a hook on the cart to hang them on would help. Menards use to have great plastic bags. They didn’t break, thicker plastic. I saved them and reuse them. Paper sacks are great as they degrade. They can also be made from recycled material and paper sacks much like a lot of paper is from trees that are replanted in farms that are used for such purposes. They don’t just wipe out forests anymore. Fires do that.
I always use them to clean up after my dog besides in small garbage cans.
Yes. We too use them for small garbage cans, cleaning the car out, carrying lunches to work… definitely being recycled or finding additional uses.
Back to paper. It breaks down and and it burns.
Bamboo is a great idea. Toilet paper, paper towel , recipt paper ect
I have cloth publix bags and I use them everywhere I go, they wash well and are eco friendly. I aso have a few from target and walfreens. best investment I ever made.
So you wash them you buy them you carry them every where you go… doesn’t sound convenient at all… yes I think paper is the solution