Walmart tests reusable, refillable packaging

Walmart is testing a program that offers reusable, refillable containers for some grocery delivery items, according to an announcement this week.

The trial is being conducted in partnership with Loop, a reuse platform that works to reduce packaging waste. Loop is a division of New Jersey-based waste company TerraCycle.

Walmart customers in Bentonville and Rogers, Arkansas, can purchase a limited assortment of products in refillable containers to be delivered via the Walmart InHome program, Loop said in a statement.

Products include food and household items from brands such as Gillette, Clorox, Cascade, Kraft Heinz, Seventh Generation, and Love Beauty and Planet. More brands will be added to Loop’s portfolio in the coming months.

“Identifying models that can make shopping easy, convenient, affordable and sustainable is a core part of how we pursue our commitment to becoming a regenerative business at Walmart,” Corey Bender, Walmart’s VP of merchandising for household essentials, said in a statement. “By leaning into reuse with Loop and so many of our brand partners, we see a unique opportunity to help our customers eliminate packaging and single-use plastic from many of their regular purchases.”

Loop collects packaging from consumers and retailers, sorts and stores and packages, cleans them and then returns them to manufacturers to refill.

After consumers use the Loop-packaged products, they place the empty containers in a designated spot inside or outside their home for a Walmart worker to pick up. The containers are then sent to Loop to be sanitized, before being returned to participating brands.

Loop, which was founded in 2019, debuted its reusable, refillable program last year in Porland, Oregon-area Fred Meyer stores.

Currently, Loop works with more than 200 CPGs and more than a dozen major retailers.

“Loop was designed from the ground up to reinvent the way we consume be learning from historic circular and sustainable models, while honoring the convenience afforded by our single-use consumption of today,” Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of Loop and TerraCycle, in a statement. “Walmart and Loop have come together to create a simple and convenient way to enjoy a wide range of products, customized in brand-specific reusable packaging, with the convenience of in-home delivery.”