Walmart ‘Unpacks’ 60% More Food Waste

The US generated about 77.6 million tons of food waste in 2022, according to ReFED. That represents about a third of the food produced. A third! That food waste ends up in landfills, is incinerated, or rots in the fields.

Packaging plays a role, mostly to help prevent food waste by extending a food’s shelf life and helping transport it safely from farm to fork. But sometimes, packaging hinders the reclamation process because it’s time consuming to manually remove expired food from its package.

Walmart is now doing more to reclaim food waste generated at its retail stores.

In partnership with organic recycler Denali, Walmart and Sam’s Club are implementing new technology they call “Zero Depack” to streamline the unpackaging process of expired food destined for landfill. This technology separates food from packaging in an automated process to create useful products like biosolids, compost, and animal feed from the previously wasted food or to convert it into energy with anaerobic digesters.

According to Walmart, this collaboration with Denali has increased the volume of reusable organic content by more than 60% and reduced compactor trash by an estimated 12%.

Walmart just launched the program at more than 1,400 Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs, including in Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Indianapolis, Phoenix, and cities across New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The retailer plans to continue rolling out the depackaging services nationwide into 2025.

Associates at a store bring collected fresh food waste to the bin for subsequent pickup by organic recycler Denali. Walmart

In a news post, RJ Zanes, Vice President, Facility Services, Walmart US, says, “On a recent trip to an organic waste recycling facility, they saw that a single Denali truck had collected organic waste from 18 different Walmart stores, weighing in at a whopping 11 tons. Much of that organic waste has the potential to become something more valuable, including a nutrient-rich product for farmers. Ultimately, depackaging food waste using Denali’s technology and processes across our stores and clubs is good for everyone: our associates, our communities, and the planet. Talk about a win/win/win.”

How does depackaging work?

Depackaging works like this:

Food waste is collected and sent to a treatment facility, where a truck or front-end loader drops it into a designated area. The food waste is fed into the depackaging system, where it is mechanically shredded or compacted to separate the food from the package. According to Denali, water is added to help the separation process. The non-biodegradable packaging is removed and disposed of appropriately. The semi-liquid biomass is screened and pumped into anaerobic digesters or composting systems.