Wal-Mart gets its fair share of negative press (and Wise Bread bloggers aren’t excluded.) However, a recent article in the new National Geographic’s Green Guide magazine really had me thinking about some of the ways Wal-Mart has led the way with environmentally-friendly initiatives. Regardless of how you feel about Wal-Mart’s status as a commercial superpower, you really have to take a look. (And while you’re at it, snag a free shopping bag!)

On April 19th, Wal-Mart stores everywhere will be celebrating Earth Month by partnering with Kellogg’s and giving away 1 million reusable shopping bags. The bags will usually cost a buck to buy, but starting 8AM next Saturday, you can have one free!

I have been following Wal-Mart’s plastic waste war for quite some time. The recent article in Nat Geo’s The Green Guide detailed Wal-Mart’s journey from their plastic bag recycling receptacles to finished sustainable products and charitable donations to community organizations. (The full story can be seen in the debut issue.)

However, it is Wal-Mart itself who seems to have the most to say about their green efforts. Wal-Mart’s goals to generate zero-net waste is a lofty one, but they have taken amazing steps toward eliminating unnecessary waste, including:

  • Implementing the “Sandwich Bale” – a method of pressing loose plastic (shopping bags, etc.) between two stacks of cardboard before bundling for transport to recycling centers. Wal-Mart estimates that this effort alone has diverted more than 97 million pounds of plastic from landfills.
  • Developing the “Super Sandwich Bale” – this new practice from 2007 allowed Wal-Mart to include aluminum cans, plastic hangers, water bottles, office paper, paperback books, and other recyclables into ONE gigantic bale for transport. Wal-Mart estimates that this has resulted in the diversion of millions upon millions of pounds of aluminum, office paper, and plastic from landfills.

  • The Kids Recycling Challenge program currently rewards schoolchildren with $5 for every 60 gallon collection bag they bring in to Wal-Mart recycling centers, in addition to cash prizes for the most motivated classrooms!

 

Additional efforts include the recycling of cardboard boxes, paper recycling efforts at the corporate office, tire recycling at the auto repair centers, and a procedure for closed-loop recycling for suppliers (which allow some of the recycled materials to go back to manufacturers for the creation of new product at a lower cost.)

Granted, all of this green goodwill won’t give Wal-Mart a free ticket into the hearts of many Americans. In fact, USA Today mentioned in a Sep 25, 2006 article that “Wal-Mart isn’t pushing sustainability solely out of the goodness of its heart. It has realized that it can make money by selling products that are environmentally friendly. It can make millions selling recycled trash and save hundreds of millions by cutting transportation costs.”

But is this so bad? Whether companies are motivated by money or morals, the outcome can be a great one for our planet.

I’m taking advantage of the free bags on April 19, and if you’re in the neighborhood, you might as well, too! Kids can also get free Wild Flower Seed Cards from Wal-Mart and Nickelodeon on this special day.

(More information on Wal-Mart’s initiatives can be found on their fact sheet at this link.)