Who’d a Thunk It?

We “greenies” always assume that “big box” stores are bad for the environment, for people, and for communities. But they can actually have a positive world-wide influence in the marketplace. Walmart is striving to be a leader in sustainability and they’ve actually taken a lot of impressive steps.

Our Earth Explorers visited with the manager at the Walmart in Farmingdale this week and we saw firsthand how they are actively striving to reduce the amount of waste generated in the store. We saw their baler for corrugated cardboard and plastics, where they collect used motor oil, oil filters and tires, how they deal with damaged and broken items that are returned that shouldn’t end up in the garbage, and were impressed with their interest in sustainability. We learned that reducing waste is good business because it saves quite a lot of money.

[The] broad environmental goals at Walmart are simple and straightforward:

• To be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy;
• To create zero waste;
• To sell products that sustain people and the environment.

We were most surprised to learn that not only does Walmart flatten and return for REUSE their own cartons, but that Frito-Lay and Entenmann’s cartons are returned to those companies as well. Those cartons are finally recycled only when they are no longer usable.

Walmart is becoming a market leader in sustainability because its buying power can change the marketplace. There are 95 stores in NY state alone. If the corporate buying policy is to focus on more sustainable products, then that’s good for everyone. Walmart’s website says, “For us, selling sustainable merchandise involves examining the entire lifespan of the product — from the materials used in making them, to the factories or farms where they were made, to how they are used as an end-product.”

The message here is sustainability is good business. It helps everyone and makes economic sense.

To learn more, go to: www.walmartstores.com and click on sustainability.