During Earth Month this April, H-E-B is introducing additional measures that will boost its year-round commitment to reduce waste, and maximize recycling efforts, across its business and throughout communities across Texas.

Throughout the year, H-E-B is committed to reduce its impact on the environment through waste diversion efforts along with several other programs to help conserve and protect our great state, now and for generations to come. Through the company’s Our Texas, Our Future commitment, H-E-B’s mission is to increase awareness and education around sustainability efforts that help preserve land, water, and air in Texas.

In time for Earth Month, H-E-B launched multiple ventures aimed at supporting plastic waste reduction among its customers, providing a sustainable option for Texans, so bags don’t end up in the landfill. Since municipal recycling programs don’t accept plastic bags and plastic film, H-E-B provides sustainable options for Texans looking for an alternative to the landfill.

H-E-B is now accepting retail plastic bags and other eligible plastic items from customers when picking up their Curbside orders. Customers simply need to bundle eligible plastic items and bring them during their scheduled Curbside pickup time, and the H-E-B Partner loading the car will collect them from the trunk to be recycled at H-E-B’s recycling center. Customers also can bring their bundled plastic items with them when shopping in store. At the entrance of every H-E-B store, there are collection bins that customers can access to recycle plastic bags and other eligible plastic items. The retailer recently refreshed the look of its bins to make them more visible to customers when entering stores.

As an added reminder, H-E-B updated the look of its plastic bags and made more prominent important recycling language to help encourage customers to bring their bags and other plastic items to the store for recycling. Each bag now includes a How2Recycle label and language that reminds customers the bags are recyclable through H-E-B. H-E-B also displays sustainability messaging on signage in store and at the shopping cart bays in the parking lots to encourage use of reusable shopping bags and adoption of recycling efforts among its customers.

In 2022, H-E-B recycled 19 million pounds of plastics throughout its operation, including plastic from its collection bins. From the plastic collected from H-E-B stores and facilities, H-E-B makes products such as Field & Future by H-E-B trash bags and bags for recyclables, which are made from up to 65 percent and 30 percent post-consumer recycled plastic, respectively.

To further encourage recycling in communities, nearly 600 elementary schools in Texas are participating in H-E-B’s annual School Plastic Bag Recycling Challenge. Each year, students from hundreds of classrooms across Texas collect thousands of pounds of plastic bags for the contest. On Earth Day, H-E-B will announce the schools that collected the most plastic bags, with top schools in each region receiving H-E-B gift cards as prizes.

Read more here.