Wal-Mart plans to cut its global plastic shopping bag waste by 33 percent over the next five years.
The plan, which encourages customers to use reusable shopping sacks, would mean that the world’s largest retailer would cut nine billion plastic bags from stores each year.
"If we can encourage consumers to change their behavior, just one bag at a time, we believe real progress can be made toward our goal of creating zero waste," Matt Kistler, Wal-Mart's senior vice president for sustainability, said in a statement.
Wal-Mart’s comprehensive bag reduction strategy is being developed in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). This goal could have far-reaching environmental and economic benefits.