Read a Message From Our CEO

Sustainable Living

  • Tools for
    Sustainable Living.

    We're empowering guests and team members to lead a more sustainable lifestyle by providing the right information, tools and incentives to make it easy.

    See more smart ways to light your home at Target.com

  • All Target stores have stations where guests can recycle
    plastic shopping bags, plastic, glass and aluminum beverage containers, cell phones, MP3 players and ink cartridges.

  • Since the launch of our reusable-bag program, Target guests have used more than 80 million reusable bags instead of paper or plastic bags at Target stores nationwide. We provide our guests the incentive to use reusable bags with a 5-cent discount for each bag used during purchase.

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  • in 2011, we recycled more than 1,000 tons of plastic, glass and aluminum bottles and cans
  • Target gave away 1 million reusable shopping bags during Earth Month 2011
  • we created 324 acres of storm water retention ponds to capture runoff
  • our pilot weather-controlled irrigation system reduced store irrigation water use, on average, by 40%
  • use a Target reusable bag 10x and you'll keep 25 plastic bags out of a landfill
  • we've deferred the equivalent of 350 million plastic bags from landfills
  • new light fixtures save more than 110 million kilowatts
  • Target was ranked 2nd on Greenpeace's seafood scorecard.
  • a tweak to the packaging of our Target home sheet sets saved 1 million+ pounds of corrugated paperboard
  • we carry more than 700 organic foods from produce to pasta
  • in 2011, we recycled more than 475,000 tons of cardboard
  • in 2011, we recycled more than 7 million pounds of electronics
  • in 2011, we donated mroe than 34 million pounds in food salvage, providing 28.4 million meals to people in need through Feeding America
  • in 2011, we recycled 7,000 tons of shrink wrap and plastic bags

Company-Wide Recycling:
A Complex Challenge with Big Rewards

In 2010, we launched a comprehensive guest-facing recycling program in our stores.

The purpose of our new recycling program was to bring our commitment to recycling out of the backroom and into the forefront. By making our recycling programs easily accessible to both our guests and our team members, we’re working together to make an even bigger impact.

Guests can now easily recycle cans, glass plastic bottles, plastic bags, MP3 players, ink cartridges and cell phones right in their local Target store.

Where Our Recycling Goes

  • Electronic waste is collected by a national vendor who resells them for reuse, refurbishing or recycling. Anything that can’t be reused is scrapped by companies that dispose of the materials responsibly.
  • Cans/bottles/glass are taken back to distribution centers in trucks already making trips. The materials are then recycled by local recycling centers.
  • Plastic bags are sold to a vendor who converts them into composite decking.
  • Food overstock is donated to Feeding America. Every Target location is paired with a local Feeding America food bank so its donations stay in the community.
  • Overstock pet food and supplies are donated to local animal shelters.
  • During a store remodel, we recycle ceiling tiles, light bulbs and display shelving.

recycle bins

Our guests’ recycled materials are then added to the materials we were already collecting—including corrugated cardboard, plastic shrink wrap, garment hangers and shopping carts—making our recycling program one of the most robust in the industry.

We’ve already seen how our proactive efforts and program expertise is helping lawmakers make recommendations for future recycling and waste legislation. This recycling program has helped our government affairs team demonstrate that recycling is a strong alternative to all-out plastic bag bans in states that are considering ways to legislate sustainability.

So how much good is Target really doing? In 2011, we collected and recycled:

  • More than 1,000 tons of plastic, glass and aluminum bottles and cans
  • More than 7,000 tons of shrink wrap and plastic bags
  • More than 7 million pounds of electronics

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