Walmart criticized a “ridiculous” policy that leaves customers with dozens of the same product

BUYERS have slammed Walmart over a “ridiculous” policy that left them with annoying stacks of the same product.

Customers are furious after Walmart banned single-use plastic bags at some locations, meaning you may be stuck with dozens of reusable bags from just a few trips.

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Beginning January 1, 2023, Walmart will have banned single-use plastic or paper bags at checkout or pickup in four states, including Colorado, Vermont, Maine and New Jersey, and Canada.

A Canadian customer said he initially welcomed the new rule – until the blue eco-friendly bags started piling up.

“It’s a little crazy,” Larry Grant told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

“In a month I can accumulate between 40 and 50.

Grant estimates he has a whopping 300 bags in just six months.

As part of Walmart’s “Beyond the Bag” program, new measures have been taken in several states to meet the company’s “ambitious zero-waste goal.”

“Eliminating single-use bags is part of our commitment to becoming zero-waste in all of our operations and ultimately moving towards a circular economy based on encouraging reuse, refill and recycling habits,” Walmart said in a recent statement.

However, the decision has sparked a new debate among shoppers after it was revealed that the bags can only be purchased with different prices for a fee.

For shoppers like Grant, it’s also unclear how issuing large quantities of reusable bags will lead to tangible environmental changes.

“The ban on plastic bags was a great move, but it wasn’t well thought out,” he said.

CBC reported that its most recent grocery delivery contained eight bags, with two of the bags containing only one item each.

“I’m really frustrated. I just hope they will say thank you for this failure… and find a solution.”

Back in 2020, Walmart said it had collectively committed $15 million to launch the Beyond the Bag initiative with help from other founding partners.

“With funding from Walmart, Target and CVS Health, this three-year initiative is led by closed-loop partners with the goal of identifying, testing and implementing viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag. said Walmart.

“In general, making a reusable bag requires more energy and carbon compared to a single-use plastic bag,” Cal Lakhan, a researcher at York University in Toronto, told CBC.

“It tends to be durable and of significantly higher quality, but that higher quality comes at a price.”

According to a 2020 United Nations study, a cotton bag actually needs to be used 50 to 150 times to have less of an impact than a single-use plastic bag.

“Just because something is reusable doesn’t necessarily make it good for the environment,” Lakhan said.

“While I understand and appreciate the efforts to try to minimize single-use plastics, we have to be very careful about how we choose to do that.”

Walmart responded to CBC and said it was looking at ways to control the number of reusable bags being put into circulation and suggested alternatives could be used for grocery delivery.

“We continue to learn and adapt along with our customers,” said Walmart spokeswoman Stephanie Fusco.