More and more big companies are starting to become aware of the threats posed by climate change and are taking actions towards becoming more sustainable. Walmart seems to be joining against this silent monster as they are committed to removing plastic bags from all their stores. Walmart started to become more conscious since the pandemic, and they switched not only to a safer shopping experience but also to a plastic-free approach.
The retail corporation recently announced that they will be removing plastic bags at checkouts from all their locations and encouraging their customers to bring their canvas bags. Plastic bags represent a large part of the non-biodegradable waste humans create and it is estimated that 100 billion plastic bags are being used and thrown away per year in the U.S. What is even scarier is that the average life span of a plastic bag is around 12 minutes, so people practically buy them to be thrown away shortly.
This is such a wasteful attitude and large retail shops like Walmart taking a clear stand in the fight against plastic can inspire other corporations to follow in their path.
Walmart announced that they are going to do away with all plastic grocery bags at the checkouts.
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.
In the 1970s, we were all forced to stop using brown paper grocery bags and switch to plastic because we needed to SAVE THE TREES! Now we’re going back to paper again?
When I was in California, Walmart used a biodegradable plastic bag. I thought that all the Walmart stores should look into this.
Please tell me why everyone is sudden worried about “climate change” when it’s been steadily happening for over 3 billion years ??
Kroger still offers paper grocery sacks if a shopper chooses to use them. Paper bags can be bought at Aldi’s by customers.
If Walmart doesn’t provide paper sacks, or a free alternative to the plastic bags, the entitled people who shop there to buy cheap, Chinese junk made by child slave-labor will be pretty upset.
I work for homecare and all my clients use the plastic bags for their garbage so they don’t have to buy plastic bags…we need to keep them and not buy other plastic bags.
Lordy. It will take forever to check out. Can you imagine how long some people are going to take loading up their groceries? Especially those women that take so long to write a check/ like they are producing a great work of art. What a bad idea.
Then Walmart should provide without charge a canvas bag to schlep the groceries home in… They want me to shop there…which if I don’t have a bag then I don’t shop… we can make that happen ….ya know. Walmart has continued over these past 20 years to cheapen all their products and services . Do they not think we notice that. Target is getting richer because of it.
This is not about helping reduce plastic waste , this is just another way for Walmart to increase profits by not providing free plastic bags to their customers .
Hopefully they will lose much business. The extreme majority do not have freakin canvas bags! So happy you guys jumped on the insane train! Keep up the great work!
What will they use for pick-up?
This is a crock of sh;t! Are they going to get rid of all the plastic containers and coke/water bottles?? I think not!
go back to paper bags. they can still be reused but will disintegrate over time
well you took the paper bags away ,saying that it would save trees if we used plastic,plastic to save the environment they said,now your saying that plastic is destroying the environment? well taking the plastic bags may help,but we are still cutting down the trees! All over! and i might remind everyone that plants use carbon dioxide CO2 and expell oxygen what we breathe and we exhall CO2 WITHOUT THOSE PLANTS AND TREES OUR exhalling co2 will fill the atmosphere up with co2 no oxygen will be produced and a greenhouse effect will happen! but the moon over the next8 to 10 years will wobble in its orbit causing our tides to surge this will cause flooding so dont blame that on mankind.
What will they replace them with?
They make biodegradable bags. Slightly more expensive but I’m sure that would still be more convenient than no bags.