Walmart Updates Recycling Playbook

At Walmart’s 2019 Packaging Innovation Summit, held Nov. 6, Walmart unveiled an updated version of its Recycling Playbook, which the company first introduced in February 2019. The Innovation Summit convened more than 350 suppliers, associates, and innovators to advance common goals around recyclable packaging, recycled content, compostable materials, and innovative reusable models and delivery.

Walmart developed its Recycling Playbook to be a supplemental resource for companies setting recyclable packaging and recycled content goals. The document, which is broken up by packaging format, focuses on the most common packaging formats found in Walmart stores. For each major packaging format, the playbook captures recyclability information based on existing infrastructure, with a specific focus on North America. Says Walmart, this is all part of its efforts to break down barriers by providing educational tools to inspire action. Walmart collaborated with Pure Strategies, The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition to develop the playbook.