Walmart Is Going To Remove Plastic Shopping Bags From All Their Stores

I live in a small town, so just about the only choice for grocery shopping is our local Walmart. Lucky me.

There is already so much change happening at Walmart. They may be going to cashierless system of checkouts, we have to wear face masks, you can only walk certain ways down the aisles, and we have to stand 6-feet apart (although I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that follows that specific rule).

Now, Walmart is changing even more. This change, however, isn’t coronavirus related. This is a change for the good of the environment.

Walmart announced that they are going to do away with all plastic grocery bags at the checkouts, and I’m not sure how I feel about this.

I mean, as a human being, I am a tad bit resistant to change. We have become so accustomed to the bags at checkout, I am going to have to wrap my brain around the change.

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. 

Walmart

Walmart has set a goal to be a zero waste company. As such, they have to find a way to replace the plastic shopping bags.

In an effort to do so, they have teamed with “Beyond the Bag,” which helps try to find ways to fix the problem of the plastic bag.

Walmart, Target and CVS Health are all a part of this “Beyond the Bag” 3-year initiative that aims at “identifying, testing and implementing viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag.”

So, this is not a change you will see happening immediately. They have set a goal, and that goal is to find a way to do away with these plastic bags that are ending up in landfills.

You can actually help with this goal. They are looking for people with forward-thinking innovative ideas, who might be able to help them solve this bag delima.

If you would like to submit an idea to squash the use of plastic bags, you may do so at the Beyond The Bag Challenge website.

They are accepting ideas through September 10th, so get that brain muscle working, and submit all your genius ideas!