Walmart Canada will eliminate single-use plastic shopping bags preventing almost three-quarters-of-a billion plastic bags from entering circulation each year.
The changes apply to in-store purchases along with online grocery pickup and delivery orders. The phased approach will see all of Walmart’s more than 400 Canadian locations make the change by Earth Day 2022.
Walmart will become one of the largest grocery retailers in the country to make this change.
This change is the latest step in the company’s journey to becoming a regenerative company and will prevent enough plastic bags to circle the world nearly 10 times.
“Eliminating plastic shopping bags is a significant milestone on our journey to becoming a regenerative company – and it’s the right thing to do,” said Horacio Barbeito, President and CEO, Walmart Canada. “We know this is important for our associates and our customers. I’m so proud of our team for taking this step, the most recent in a series of significant changes to ensure we’re doing right by our associates, customers and the planet and leading the way when it comes to regenerative practices.”
The national roll-out follows a 10-store pilot that began in August 2021. This successful pilot received overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers and associates and diverted nearly 6 million plastic bags.