Office Depot to cut 20% of plastic packaging by 2027

BOSTON – The ODP Corporation, which operates Office Depot and OfficeMax retail stores, has committed to reducing plastic packaging associated with its private label products and e-commerce shipping operations by 20% below 2022 levels by 2027. 

“The Office Depot slogan, ‘…we take care of you…’ rings truer today with this commitment to reduce plastic packaging,” said Janet Domenitz, director of MASSPIRG. “Getting to zero waste will take action from our government, our citizens, and our businesses—large and small. With more than 1,000 retail locations plus its online business, Office Depot’s commitment is a major step forward.” 

ODP is going a step further than many other big box retailers, such as Target and Walmart, which have set goals to reduce the amount of new plastic used in packaging but have yet to commit to reducing their overall plastic use. Other companies cutting plastic include Unilever, Mattel and CVS, all of whom in recent years have declared time-bound goals to reduce total plastic use.

“ODP’s commitment to reduce plastic packaging comes just in time for the holidays, and this gift arrives not a moment too soon,” said Matt Casale, PIRG’s environment campaigns director. “Plastic pollutes everywhere from the peak of Mt. Everest to ice in Antarctica. Unless companies implement more commitments such as this, plastic in our oceans will stay on pace to nearly triple by 2040.” 

According to a study from the Pew Charitable Trust, current commitments from government and industry will only stem plastic pollution by 7% by 2040. Pew says, “Industry and governments have the solutions today to reduce rates of annual land-based plastic leakage into the ocean by about 80 per cent,” and that the first step is to reduce growth in plastic consumption to avoid nearly one-third of projected plastic waste generation.

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