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!
Teach your cashiers to put more than 1 item in a bag
as long as the few remaining cashiers don’t refuse to bag my purchase in my own bags….
How about do the buy a recycled bag like Aldi has..
Use the boxes that the food comes to you in, maybe
why not use the same bags that the walmarts in Hawaii does
Instead of using plastic bags why don’t they save the boxes from the inventory they stock, put a crate at end of checking isle to load up their goods. Reduce, reuse and recycle.
Yet another way to pretend its about the environment just to stop buying bags for customers.
If this were true they’d just use paper bags.
@Frank, agreed 100%
@Frank, Paper bags are not environmentally friendly. They could try bamboo it regenerates quickly not in 10 – 20 years.. Theoretically they should be cheaper than paper since the bamboo regenerates so rapidly.
@Frank, then they would complaine about using up trees to make paper bags that’s why they went to lactic bags
I don’t have a solution for environmentally safe bags but if until they are created why not make recycling receptacles for the current plastic bags that are going into the landfills more visible in stores and possibly if stores or plastic bag manufacturers are serious about saving the environment then have an incentive of money for returning them in bulk until that time when environmentally safe bags are created and hopefully that would come sooner because of cost to stores or plastic bags manufacturers to give refunds for recycling bags. I know there will be ways around this idea that some will take advantage of but if it makes recycling more aware then that’s a good thing ?
If Walmart would use a bag that a person could reuse it might be a option. They use such cheap bags and have to double bag a lot of stuff because their bags are so thin. By the time you get home with your groceries…if they didn’t fall apart getting to the car they will definitely have wholes all in them by the time you empty them in the house. Otherwise I would use them for garbage bags in my small trash cans. They are not worth reusing for anything.
@vicki chupp, look up Walmart reusable bag Hawaii. They already have the answer!
I remember when everyone wanted to go to the plastic bags!
I fart in Walmart’s (the China store) general direction.
I keep all my plastic bags in a drawer in the kitchen.
Idky…I just do. Must be 25 years worth of plastic bags in there.
Wal•Mart is cutting corners to save a buck. They don’t give a damn about the environment.
If/when my local store goes bagless, I am going to take those bags and dump em all in the ocean.
Wal•Mart can prevent that tho. If they really care about the environment. Time will tell.
@Joe,
Sure the answer is to dump all your bags in the ocean. You are such a complete idiot. Why not use some intelligence to come up with a substitution for the bags? Wait do you have the brain power for that???
Since so many individuals recycle now adays. Why not recycle the bags? You could provide a fee to recycle, After the bags in store are gone go back to non plastic bags.
@Leeanna canada, why can’t we just use the recycling bags whatever ends up in the land field can be redesigned to be able to use them to the best of our abilities so then they wouldn’t be in the landfill anymore they would be recycled to thicker and reusable that would be a better idea wouldn’t it
@Jacklyn, I buy garbage bags that are recycled plastic.
I have been using my own reusable bags for many years. I am really happy to see corporations do the responsible thing. Reusable bags are bigger and heavier which means you can use one of them for the same amount of items that now take 4-6 bags. Also, most plastic store bags are so flimsy that they are already torn and thus unusable by the time you get them home. I also have a dog and I buy the waste bags specially made for picking up after her, the biodegradable ones if I can find them. No, I am not some wealthy member of the “elite”, I am a 73 year old woman on Social Security. I simply care about our planet and would like to see it remain livable for generations to come. I have no patience with people who are apparently too lazy to figure out an alternative to plastic bags that they are also apparently too lazy to recycle.
@J Marsh, Beautiful post
@J Marsh,
I couldn’t agree more. I bring my own bags to the stores as well. I have been doing it for a while now. All stores should just do away with plastic bags and be done with it. Customers will figure it out.
So long,Walmart .Dont like you anymore anyway.You will miss my $175 a week.And all the others who dont buy into the nonsense. I reuse my bags,as do many others….
@Bob Sand,
Yep, I stopped shopping at the China store long ago
@Bob Sand, yes, i hate Wally.dont shop there anymore
Save a Lot…. They charged 5 cents for the plastic bags they would sell you… But also at the front of the store were boxes you were free tovyse to take your groceries home..
Go back to paper
@Deanna, Imagine that!
PAPER BAGS. THEY CAN BE USED IN SO MANY WAYS & DISPOSED OF IN VARIOUS WAYS
@Clara Davidson, yeah but paper bags cut the crap out your arm I say we should stick to the plastic thicker reusable bags so then your not cutting yourself every time you put an item in
Our grocery store offers paper bags t checkout. We always use them. Then we use those paper bags for our garbage and recycling.