Retailer sponsors free admission to select nature centers across Texas and continues supporting efforts to make recycling available in rural cities
In celebration of Texas Recycles Day, H-E-B is giving Texans free admission to 17 nature centers across the state. Additionally, H-E-B continues to help support recycling facilities in areas with little or no recycling access across the state, an effort that’s part of the retailer’s commitment to maximize recycling efforts throughout its business and the communities it serves.
From November 15-17, H-E-B is sponsoring free admission to select nature centers in exchange for one recyclable plastic bottle or single-use plastic bag per person.
RECYCLE FOR A
FREE DAY PASS
Bring a plastic bag or bottle, per person,
and enjoy the beauty of Texas.
November 15-17, 2024
Retailer sponsors free admission to select nature centers across Texas and continues supporting efforts to make recycling available in rural cities
In celebration of Texas Recycles Day, H-E-B is giving Texans free admission to 17 nature centers across the state. Additionally, H-E-B continues to help support recycling facilities in areas with little or no recycling access across the state, an effort that’s part of the retailer’s commitment to maximize recycling efforts throughout its business and the communities it serves.
From November 15-17, H-E-B is sponsoring free admission to select nature centers in exchange for one recyclable plastic bottle or single-use plastic bag per person.
RECYCLE FOR A
FREE DAY PASS
Bring a plastic bag or bottle, per person, and enjoy the beauty of Texas.
November 15-17, 2024
The locations are:
San Antonio
The locations are:
San Antonio
Annual celebrations such as Texas Recycles Day are part of H-E-B’s longstanding pledge to reduce its impact on the environment. Through the company’s Our Texas, Our Future commitment, H-E-B’s mission is to increase awareness, access, and education around sustainability efforts that help preserve land, water, and air in Texas.
![DSC_6350[1]](https://newsroom.heb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/DSC_63501-scaled.jpg)
To celebrate this Texas Recycles Day, H-E-B is working with organizations across Texas in ways that provide recycling opportunities and raise awareness. For example, H-E-B partnered with Unilever, San Antonio ISD, and nonprofit Texas Children in Nature Network to organize an event at Sarah King Elementary School where volunteers helped build a nature playground at the Westside campus, which uses sustainable materials and nature features such as logs and stumps. Updates also were made to the existing playground at the school and several native trees were planted on the campus. Also, Unilever and H-E-B, and the SAISD Foundation awarded 24 local elementary schools with grants up to $10,000 for needed campus projects as recognition for their students’ recycling efforts, leading up to Texas Recycles Day. The grant amounts range from $1,000 to $10,000, which is the grand prize amount given to the school that gathered the most recyclable items.
Furthering its commitment to support sustainable efforts within the community, H-E-B works with Keep Texas Recycling, a program of Keep Texas Beautiful, to help fund municipal recycling grants to cities and counties that need support launching and improving recycling programs. Recently, a new drop-off center made recycling available to residents in Floresville and Wilson County for the first time. H-E-B provided an $81,000 gift to help establish the drop-off recycling center, which will service 35,000 residents in Wilson County, a community south of San Antonio. Currently, the facility only accepts carboard. The facility is expected to be fully operational by next spring when it will begin to accept plastic bottles and aluminum cans as well.
Since the program was launched in 2021, H-E-B has gifted more than $400,000 in Recycling for Texans Grants to support recycling centers in communities such as Burleson County, City of Cuero, City of Ingleside, City of Pharr, Bandera County, Fayette County, and Texas City, impacting more than 400,000 Texans. The grants have facilitated improvements such as outreach and education as well as provided equipment such as balers and yard ramps
Within its own operations, in 2023, H-E-B recycled more than 585 million pounds of cardboard, plastics, office paper, food waste, metal, and truck tires. Of that amount, H-E-B recycled 19 million pounds of plastic, including bags and film from the plastic recycling bins stationed at an entrance to every store, as well as through its Curbside departments; these customer-facing bins accept not only retail shopping bags, but also produce bags, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags, and plastic wrap. H-E-B products such as Field & Future trash bags and bags for recyclables are made from up to 65 percent and 30 percent post-consumer recycled plastic collected from H-E-B stores and facilities, respectively. Additionally, H-E-B recycled 66 million pounds of food into animal feed and compost, and H-E-B’s Hunger Relief Program donated 32.3 million pounds of food to families in need last year.
Contamination remains the number one barrier to effective recycling. In an effort to increase consumer awareness and reduce contamination, H-E-B is part of How2Recycle, a program that places clear, easy-to-read labels on products that let customers know if the packaging can be recycled, which parts are recyclable, and importantly, how to prepare material for recycling. How2Recycle labels are already on more than 4,000 H-E-B branded items, which include H-E-B, Hill Country Fare, H-E-B Organics, H-E-B Mi Tienda, Higher Harvest by H-E-B, Field & Future by H-E-B, Central Market products, and more. To join H-E-B in its mission to reduce contamination in residential recycling, tips and best practices can be found on its Our Texas, Our Future website.
By maximizing its recycling and waste diversion efforts, and increasing nature access for its employees and customers, H-E-B seeks to conserve and protect our great state, now and for generations to come.
