Walmart’s June 1, 2023 announcement treated e-commerce waste as a network-design problem, not just a packaging swap. The company said it would move nearly all plastic mailers to recyclable paper, expecting the change to remove 65 million mailers—or more than 2,000 tons of plastic—from U.S. circulation by fiscal year-end. It also planned to let pickup customers opt out of single-use bags, with nationwide rollout expected by year-end. [story-s1]
The operational changes extended to box size and order handling. Walmart said right-sized packaging technology was being introduced across about half its fulfillment network, while shoppers could request multiple items be consolidated into fewer boxes. The announcement attributed a 60% reduction in filler to the technology and cited a separate Packsize estimate for reduced oversized-box waste; neither figure should be mistaken for a company-wide measured result. Applied AI was also being used to identify orders that stores could fulfill instead of distribution centers, with combined delivery routes and electric vans described as ways to reduce miles and boxes. [story-s1]
The strategy leaned on retail infrastructure as logistics infrastructure: Walmart said it had 4,700 stores serving as fulfillment centers. The release positioned these measures alongside its 2040 zero-emissions ambition. It documented planned actions and expected impacts, not proof that the projected waste reductions had already been achieved. [story-s1]
Source documents
- Walmart Doubles Down on Reducing Waste To Create More Sustainable Omnichannel Fulfillment Networkhttps://corporate.walmart.com/news/2023/06/01/walmart-doubles-down-on-reducing-waste-to-create-more-sustainable-omnichannel-fulfillment-network