- February: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland.
- March: Quebec.
- April: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Yukon.
Is this only happening in my local store?
This initiative is happening in all Walmart stores across Canada with an anticipated completion date of April 22, 2022.
Why are you not providing free boxes or paper bags?
Contrary to popular belief, paper and cardboard are not better for the environment than plastic because of their heavy carbon footprint. Additionally, boxes need to meet strict quality control standards to be re-purposed for customer use. We use food grade boxes to pack food donations for our local food bank partners and recycle others. A combination of paper and reusable bags are being used for grocery delivery orders only. We encourage shoppers to move away from single-use items and toward more sustainable reusable options.
Are there any exceptions?
At this time, we will still provide:
- Bags for items sold in bulk, such as meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, candy, flour, and cereals.
- Produce bags.
- Items already packaged by means of industrial processing.
Will customers be able to recycle plastic bags at Walmart? Where will they go?
What is Walmart going to do with remaining plastic bags?
Great question! Our stores will sell down their existing supply of plastic shopping bags, leading up to the launch date of each province. After this date, opened cases will be recycled as per Walmart Canada’s Plastic Bag Program.
What if I forget my bag?
We encourage our in store and online pickup customers to help us do all that we can for the environment by bringing their own reusable options from home — like a tote bag or even a laundry basket!
If you forget your bags/containers at home, there will be existing and new lower-cost reusable options for sale at checkout. We also encourage our customers to consider transferring their items directly to their vehicle from the shopping cart, if applicable.
Will cashiers help me bag items into my reusable bags?
We're happy to help! We will continue to provide our customers with excellent customer service at checkout. Cashiers will ask you if you would like assistance bagging items into your own reusable bags and will help if you would like assistance.
What will happen for pickup orders?
For both Walmart Pickup and Grocery Pickup orders, items will not be provided in single-use plastic bags. Moving forward, items will be placed directly into our totes for collection purposes and then transferred directly into customers’ reusable bags/boxes or vehicles. Please note, items sold in bulk (meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, candy, flour, and cereals) will still be prepared for pickup in produce bags.
What will happen for Grocery Delivery orders?
Items in Grocery Delivery orders will be put into a combination of paper and reusable bags. Chilled and frozen items will be transported to your home in Walmart’s reusable bags with all non-chilled items in paper — free of charge!
All of our other standard delivery protocols remain in place, including packing chilled and frozen items in special carriers to ensure that their safe temperatures are maintained.
Do I have to bring my own reusable bags for in store shopping or pickup orders?
We are eliminating all single-use plastic bags at our checkouts and for online grocery orders because Walmart Canada is committed to protecting the environment. We recommend bringing your own reusable shopping bags or containers for in store shopping and for pickup orders. For your convenience, we offer reusable shopping bags both in store and online for a low price.