Target, Walmart and CVS team up to get rid of plastic bags

The world’s largest retailers are trying to replace the plastic bag.

Target, Walmart and CVS Health unveiled a $ 15 million joint initiative Tuesday to replace plastic bags with something else over the next three years. The companies, which each contributed $ 5 million, aim to create global competition to find a way to change plastic bags or make them unnecessary. Walgreens Boots Alliance and Kroger also plan to get involved.

Called “Beyond the Bag,” companies want to start research on new bag materials or technology and delivery systems that may make them obsolete. The challenge will also study consumer use of bags and the infrastructure that manufactures and distributes them.

The project will be overseen by Closed Loop Partners, a New York-based investment firm that works to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

Kate Daly, managing director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop, said a solution to the plastic bag “will require unexpected partnerships.”

While these companies generally compete for buyers, they all face the same dilemma when it comes to exchanges. “We know this is not something we can solve on our own,” said Eileen Howard Boone, director of sustainability for CVS Health.

Disposing of the bags is not as simple as offering reusable or paper options. While plastic bags are made from fossil fuels, their production requires much less energy than stronger bags made from cotton or double-bag paper.

Another challenge is that consumers often forget to bring enough reusable bags to stores. Retailers also worry that shoppers can buy less because they don’t have enough bags or because they lack an efficient way to get products home.

Globally, according to Waste Management Inc., the planet goes through about 4 trillion bags a year, and only about 1% of plastic bags end up being properly recycled by consumers. When they end up in the trash, they often get stuck in recycling and waste processing machines.

On average, shoppers “only use a plastic bag for 12 minutes before throwing it away, but it lingers in our environment for hundreds of years in our channels and landfills,” said Daly of Closed Loop.

The plastic bag was introduced to supermarkets in 1977. While 32 countries and an increasing number of US states have cracked down on its use, the coronavirus pandemic has sparked a resurgence. With the security concerns surrounding the virus’s ability to survive on fabrics, even Greenpeace has said that reusable plastic bags are safe for consumers.