US Plastics Pact Launches Inaugural Awards with Walmart's Circular Connector

Walmart donated Circularconnector to the United States Plastic Pact for their inaugural Innovation Awards. The awards are intended to spark new ideas and provide a unique platform for innovators. All companies that submit packaging solutions into the Circular Connector before August 19, 2022, will be considered for the award.

When Walmart launched the Circular Connector in April 2022, our goal was to connect companies that have developed more sustainable packaging innovations with those who are looking for such solutions. With over 500 organizations from around the world signing on to The Ellen McArthur Foundation and UNEP's New Plastic Economy Global Commitment, we knew we weren't alone in our quest. This is why we designed the Circular Connector to be open to the public.

We are collaborating with the United States to accelerate the search for — and adoption of — more sustainable packaging solutions. Plastic Pact followed by donating the use of Circular Connector for their inaugural Innovation Awards. The United States Plastic Pact, which includes Walmart, aims to ensure that plastics never become waste by eliminating unnecessary plastics, innovating to ensure that the plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and circulating all plastic items we use to keep them in the economy and out of the environment.

These inaugural awards are intended to spark new ideas and provide a unique platform for innovators to test their concepts. All companies that submit packaging solutions into the Circular Connector before Aug. 19, 2022, will be considered for the award. It is open to businesses of any size as long as they serve the US market and will focus on three categories:

Recyclability - meets design for recyclability in U.S. systems (i.e., meets the Association of Plastic Recyclers Preferred Design Guidelines, How2Recycle Guidelines, and contains no problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging), aids in the transition from non-recyclable to recyclable, and/or meets Walmart's Recycling Playbook Recyclable "Green" Pages (s).

Reuse/Refill - the process of refilling or reusing packaging for the same purpose for which it was originally sold.

Compostability - meets the composting certification standards of the Biodegradable Products Institute.

Source: Walmart newsroom