Walmart Canada has announced it will eliminate free, single-use plastic bags across all of its Canadian stores, beginning in British Columbia.
The roll-out will begin on February 9, as part of the company’s strategy for cutting the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills, and ongoing commitment to achieve zero waste.
Customers will also be encouraged to bring reusable bags, which Walmart plans to sell at a discounted rate of 25 cents. Customers requesting plastic bags at the checkout will be charged 5 cents per bag.
“We know from our experience in other international markets that an incentive in the form of a fee to encourage customers to adopt reusable bags reduces single-use plastic bags by more than 50%. Similar programs here in Canada have reported comparable successes.” said Lee Tappenden, chief operations officer at Walmart Canada.
In addition, Walmart states that partial proceeds from the bag charge will benefit recycling initiatives for grocery bags and other thin plastic objects. The company is currently working with suppliers on finding new ways to minimizing plastic from its packaging processes.
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