In mid-April, Walmart launched its new Circular Connector, an online tool designed to bridge the gap between companies searching for more sustainable packaging ideas and those that offer them. Says the company, “As Walmart drives toward its commitment to becoming a regenerative company, it remains focused on accelerating progress on the environmental sustainability of its products. The Circular Connector, available on WalmartSustainabilityHub.com, represents a continuation of this sustainability commitment.”
The platform has been designed by Walmart to make it easier for sourcing teams and brand companies to quickly find sustainable packaging solutions. “With the Circular Connector, we expect the journey to become easier for brands and innovators to identify and implement more sustainable packaging solutions,” it says.
 | Read this story on Walmart’s vow to become a regenerative company. |
The Circular Connector is available for all packaging companies interested in submitting sustainable packaging solutions. To participate, innovations should align with Walmart’s sustainable packaging goals. Each submission will be screened against those goals, and if aligned, will be published later this year for public download on the hub and made available to Walmart private brands associates and suppliers for their consideration.
Walmart’s Recycling Playbook provides examples of materials that are difficult to recycle and could disqualify innovations from inclusion in the Circular Connector. These materials include:
· Metallized films
· Multilayer materials
· PVC or PVDC
· EPS or PS
· PETG in rigid plastic packaging
· Oxo-degradable
· Undetectable carbon black
· Colored PET
· Biodegradable additives in petroleum-based plastics
