May 13, 2008 - Wal-Mart Canada has announced plans to phase out all PVC plastic packaging from the compact fluorescent lightbulbs it sells, switching to recycled-content cardboard instead.

The change will eliminate 150,000 pounds of PVC plastic waste each year, according to Wal-Mart.

"Just 8% of Wal-Mart Canada's environmental footprint is related to our own operations," says Guy McGuffin, vice president and sustainable packaging network leader at Wal-Mart Canada. "The remainder is linked to the products we sell, so we've been working for some time with suppliers and challenging them to make products and packaging with the environment in mind."

Wal-Mart has set a goal to reduce product packaging 5% by 2013. In February, the retailer introduced a packaging scorecard to rate suppliers on their progress toward developing sustainable packaging.