Walmart announced the news steps it will be taking to help make its omnichannel packaging more sustainable by adopting measures designed to reduce the amount of packaging waste associated with online orders. This includes moving from plastic to recyclable paper mailers, right-sizing corrugated cases, giving customers the option to consolidate shipping on e-commerce orders, opting out of single-use plastic bags for online pickup orders, and last-mile delivery efficiencies to reduce mileage and delivery times.
According to the retailer, hundreds of millions of packages are shipped to customers from Walmart each year. Moving forward, nearly all orders shipped in plastic mailers from fulfillment centers and stores and all marketplace items shipped with Walmart Fulfillment Services will arrive in recyclable paper bag mailers. This transition is expected to eliminate 65 million plastic bag mailers or more than 2,000 tons of plastic from circulation in the U.S. by the end of the current fiscal year.
Additionally, customers nationwide will soon have the choice to opt out of single-use plastic bags for their online pickup orders. According to Walmart, early tests indicate promising adoption rates and the potential to eliminate millions of single-use bags each year from circulation. The retailer says it expects to complete rollout nationwide by the end of the year.
“Our commitment to regeneration is core to who we are and how we innovate at Walmart,” says Karisa Sprague, senior vice president, Fulfillment Network Operations, Walmart U.S. “Customers have told us how excited they are about these enhancements to make it easier for them to make more sustainable choices that support the planet and the next generation.”
Right-sized packages and consolidated shipping
Walmart is also helping reduce the amount of corrugated used to ship products to customers by transitioning to right-sized packaging technology from PackSize in approximately half of its fulfillment network. This technology helps create a package custom fitted to the customer’s order. Explains PackSize, by eliminating unused space in the box, this technology reduces the need for filler by 60% while reducing waste caused by oversized boxes by as much as 26%, creating a better unboxing experience for customers.
