Wal-Mart Boosting Plastics Recycling Program

Retailing giant Wal-Mart, in partnership with Rocky Mountain Recycling, is stepping up a pilot program that the companies hope will significantly boost plastic recycling. 

The two companies have been using the Plastic Sandwich Bale, a process that is going to revolutionize the way retailers think about recycling and waste management.

Dick Pastor, Wal-Mart’s director of environmental management, noted that in 11 months the company has had significant success with the pilot program in just 10 percent of the company stores.

Due to the success, Wal-Mart will be adding 267 more stores to the Plastic Sandwich Bale program this fall.

The system that the two companies have developed works the following way:

* Wal-Mart and Sam's Club associates place 10 to 20 inches of cardboard at the bottom of large trash compactors that already exist at store locations.

*  Shrink wrap, plastic bags, apparel bags and other loose plastic is loaded in, and another section of cardboard is placed on top.

*  The compactor then presses the bale into a "sandwich" with 9 inches to 18 inches of recyclable plastic in the middle.

*  These bales are then loaded onto a truck to be recycled into other products that range from very dense plastic lumber to very thin shopping bags.

So far, in 2005, the company has recycled more than 5,734 tons of plastic.  "We wanted to explore new ways to improve our recycling efforts, and saw an opportunity to lead the charge to increase plastic bag and film recycling," says Pastor. 

Last September the company launched the Plastic Sandwich Bale as a pilot program in 326 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Clubs stores.

Rocky Mountain Recycling Sales Manager Jeff Ashby says the Plastic Sandwich Bale, solves a long-standing barrier to plastic recycling by compressing loose plastic into a bale sandwiched between two layers of cardboard.  "The compressed plastic is easier and more efficient to transport to recycle centers," he adds.