From recycling to pollination education to planting trees, this Earth Month H-E-B says it will continue to further its year-round commitment to supporting environmental stewardship initiatives across its business and in communities throughout Texas.
Guided by the company’s Our Texas, Our Future commitment, the San Antonio-based grocer says its mission is to increase awareness and adoption of sustainability efforts that help preserve Texas land, water and air for generations to come.
Since 2012, H-E-B says it has given more than $20 million to over 500 environmental organizations involved in land and water conservation, habitat and coastal preservation, and community cleanups.
Recycling ramp up
H-E-B, in collaboration with longtime partner Keep Texas Beautiful, established H-E-B Community Recycling Grants in 2021. Since then, the organizations have selected projects that focus on increasing access to recycling in rural and underserved communities by funding infrastructure improvements, and educational recycling resources, according to a news release.
This year, grants totaling $250,000 funded projects in Bandera County, Burleson County, Fayette County and Ingleside, Texas, expanding collection and improving recycling access for nearly 130,000 Texans, the release said.
H-E-B says it also worked with Keep Texas Beautiful to provide funding to support the first community recycling drop-off center in Floresville, Texas. The recycling center, slated to open in April 2025, is expected to accept clean cardboard, PET plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
On March 11, hundreds of H-E-B stores kicked off the annual School Plastic Bag Recycling Challenge, with a record-breaking 675 schools joining the effort this year, the company said.
Each year, students in classrooms across Texas collect thousands of pounds of plastic bags in replicas of H-E-B’s front-of-store recycling bins for the contest. When the contest ends on April 11, H-E-B tallies the totals and announces which schools collected the most plastic bags on Earth Day, April 22. The winners will receive H-E-B gift cards as a prize.
Last year, 600 schools participated in the challenge, collecting more than 4 million plastic bags that were then recycled, the release said.
At the entrance of every H-E-B store, customers can access collection bins for plastic bags and other eligible plastic items, such as other retail shopping bags, produce bags, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags and plastic overwrap for items like paper towels, according to the company.
H-E-B says it refreshed the design of the bins last year to make them more visible and informative. Since last April, H-E-B Curbside customers have been able to bring their bundled plastic bags when picking up their online orders.
The grocer also updated the look of its plastic bags, adding the How2Recycle label along with a reminder that customers can recycle their bags through H-E-B. The company says it reiterates these sustainability messages on in-store signage and parking lot shopping cart bays.
As part of its recycling efforts, H-E-B says it also has recycled 66 million pounds of food to help create animal feed and compost.
Trees and bees
As part of its environmental conservation efforts, H-E-B launched Trees for Texans in November 2023. This year-round program supports the planting of native trees to create healthier environments and increase shade for schools and communities.
H-E-B, in partnership with Texan by Nature, is offering opportunities for nonprofits to apply for $5,000 grants to help fund tree-planting efforts statewide. Customers can join in the effort to help plant trees across Texas and donate from April 10 to May 7 at H-E-B registers in-store and online when placing curbside and home delivery orders.
H-E-B says its team members across the state are taking their own steps to protect and beautify Texas. Throughout Earth Month H-E-B employees plan to volunteer at events in the many communities H-E-B serves.
Among these events and partnerships is the Talking Bees Roadshow with the Healthy Hive Foundation, an effort that is poised to roll out to public libraries in the Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas to provide free bee education across Texas.