Waste

Utilizing our scale to reduce waste globally

Our goal of achieving zero waste motivates associates and suppliers across our global operations every day. Our vision is to reach a day where there are no dumpsters behind our stores and clubs, and no landfills containing our throwaways.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 665,000 tons of waste is created every day in the U.S., adding up to more than 243 million tons annually. Of all that trash, more than half ends up in a landfill. Multiply that the world over and it is easy to understand how important it is for Walmart to leverage its size and global scale to create new solutions for keeping waste out of landfills.

Every day, we are identifying opportunity and driving innovation across our global operations. At Walmart Mexico, for example, we recovered the cooking oil used in 690 stores and restaurants. We worked directly with suppliers to turn nearly 1.2 million pounds of recovered cooking oil into biodiesel, soap or a supplement for cattle feed. Through a separate program piloted at 28 of our stores in Puebla, we composted 1,950 metric tons of organic waste. We continue to search for opportunities to expand on these two success stories where the appropriate recycling infrastructure exists.