You are right on the money with landfill degradation most are just a capsule to contain rather than assist in any other purpose. These capules will one day be opened by the younger generations that will have to deal with the problem.

Waste plastic is a growing problem in every country worldwide. This stream of consumer packaging could be rated as one of the worlds fastest growing problems.

Due to the complex nature of waste plastic and the various polymers involved, the technology to recycle 100% of this without the need to wash or sort is very limited, however it does exist and is in demand.

Check the video out at www.globalplasticrecyclers.com

This is the ultimate in a corporate sustainability issue

There is a gas station here in Minnesota/Wisconsin that has had bags of milk for years.  It makes you question everything you think you know about milk when you run into them for the first time.  The pitchers i've seen for their milk have a slot that you can use to give the corner of the bag a twist, and then slide that corner into the slot to keep the bag closed.

The 'gas station' with milk bags isn't a single station -- it's Kwik Trip, one of the larger convenience-store chains in the region, and they've had milk bags for years.

Lighter, less likely to split or burst than a jug, take up less space on the shelf, and the bags are even more recyclable than are jugs, if I recall correctly.  Even if they end up in a landfill, at least they take up less space than even a crushed milk jug.

Bring on the bags!  It's a great idea, and looooong overdue.

I'm not WalMart's biggest fan, I'll admit, but I'm delighted to see WalMart forcing discussions about green issues in places that those discussions have never taken place before.  People in small towns are starting to use cloth shopping bags, trying CF lightbulbs, and pondering organics...it's a start, and WalMart deserves props for starting these discussions.

Rand - I attended the packaging expo last week and came away with impression you did.  Definitely some very outside the box ideas (no pun intended).  However, there was a bit of irony at the show. 

As a supplier, I had to register at the front desk, where a badge was printed.  This badge was a small 2X3 swash of paper.  Each badge was printed on single 8.5 X 11 piece of paper.  I stood there and watched as sheet after sheet, had one badge cut out and the remaining 75% tossed out (no doubt recycled).  

For a show that was all about big ideas around reducing and reusing, wasting so much on something so simple was definitely a point of irony.

Rand,

I know it's at least 10 years away but high volume liquids like milk, soda pop, and even detergents will be delivered to Sams and Supercenters by tanker trucks that will pump directly into store dispensing units that will fill, seal and apply a microchip to the customer provided container.

In an earlier blog I suggested that Wal*Mart put color-coded pricing stickers on Earth friendly products. Wal*Mart was a step ahead of me. Way to go!  Rand, I also saw a 24' display of Eco products  on the non-foods side when entering the store. I bought the Palmoive Eco+ dishwasher detergent. I wish the display had been near the food entrance instead of bakery goods.  Anyway, you are making progress. Thanks.

Does Walmart plan to offer tote bags instead of using a bajillion plastic bags? I was at Walmart today and normally I bring tote bags with me, but I forgot today and noticed that my store doesn't carry totes, so I couldn't buy any and had to come home with plastic bags. It was more than a little frustrating.      

Rand thanks for the informative piece on last weeks event.  Would please contact me by email I'd like to chat on a couple of things.

thanks

I really dislike walmart and what they are doing to our economy yet i still shop there because they have the ceapest prices on a lot of things.  I don't understand why I would do that but you cant really win now days you have to support places like that cause you cant afford any other place.  i mean it is cool what walmart does wiht the pacaging and all but that doesnt help the fact that they are taking over everything

All the green ideas are great but, Most consumers need a place to their recyclables. I live near Wichita Falls, TX. and we just don't have a convenient place to take plastic, paper, cans, and glass. I would like to suggest that Wal-Mart establish some "Green" dumpsters or bins so that the weekly Wal-mart shopper can bring their recyclables to drop off during their weekly shopping trip. This would enable every consumer to be very green, save gas, and it would increase Wal-mart sales.