This year, more than 600 elementary schools in Texas collected over four million plastic bags as part of H-E-B’s annual School Plastic Bag Recycling Challenge
H-E-B will celebrate Earth Day with its annual reusable bag giveaway, which provides 250,000 reusable bags to customers across Texas. On April 22, customers who visit any H-E-B, Central Market, Joe V’s Smart Shop and Mi Tienda in Texas are eligible to receive a complimentary Earth Day bag. Since 2008, H-E-B has given out more than three million reusable bags in celebration of Earth Day.
Beginning at 10 a.m. on April 22, customers who visit any H-E-B brand store in Texas can get their complimentary Earth Day bag while supplies last.
Customers can purchase additional Earth Day reusable bags for $1.50. This year’s Earth Day tote highlights the H-E-B Our Texas, Our Future commitment, which is the company’s mission to increase awareness and education around sustainability efforts that help preserve land, water, and air in Texas. Throughout the year, H-E-B is committed to reduce its impact on the environment through waste diversion efforts along with several other programs to help conserve and protect our great state, now and for generations to come.
For Earth Month in April, H-E-B launched multiple ventures aimed at supporting plastic waste reduction among its customers and providing sustainable alternatives for Texas shoppers.
Among those efforts, students from hundreds of classrooms across Texas collected thousands of pounds of plastic bags as part of H-E-B’s Annual School Plastic Bag Recycling Challenge. This year, more than 600 elementary schools in Texas collected over four million plastic bags for the challenge. The schools that collected the most plastic bags will receive H-E-B gift cards as prizes. This year’s winners are:
Border Region
- Matias Elementary
- Borchers Elementary
- Heights Elementary
Central Texas Region
- Fern Bluff Elementary
- Emile Elementary
- Perez Elementary
Gulf Coast Region
- Robert Driscoll Elementary
- Refugio Elementary
- San Pedro Elementary
Houston Region
- Memorial Parkway Elementary
- Coulson-Tough Elementary
- Robertson Elementary
North/ West Texas Region
- Simpson Elementary
- Felty Elementary
- Bowie Elementary
San Antonio Region
- Randall Fields Elementary
- Hopkins Elementary
- Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary
In support of community recycling efforts, H-E-B, in partnership with Keep Texas Recycling, a program of Keep Texas Beautiful, selected six projects across the state, which will benefit from the 2023 H-E-B Community Recycling Grants. These grants support projects that focus on increasing access to recycling by funding infrastructure improvements, material resources, and access to educational recycling materials. Grant funds totaling $157,000 will fund projects in Pharr, Ingleside, Cuero, Texas City, Burleson County, and San Angelo, improving recycling access for nearly 350,000 Texans.
Because H-E-B Partners (employees) are committed to taking their own steps to beautify Texas, many have marked Earth Day by volunteering at outdoor events, tree plantings and community cleanups. Many H-E-B stores across the state also will host in-store events to celebrate Earth Day with their customers and communities. Additionally, stores will host in-store Environmental Education Scavenger Hunt in partnership with EcoRise. The scavenger hunts are fun, self-guided tours through H-E-B stores, showing elementary age children ways H-E-B works to protect our environment and how they can adopt sustainable practices. The scavenger hunt information can be found on the Our Texas, Our Future website and printed versions are available in stores.
To further embrace its continuing commitment to sourcing from Texas businesses, select H-E-B stores in Austin will host Austin Community Markets, giving customers a unique experience that supports the environment and local community. Championed by the company’s Our Texas, Our Future commitment, these community markets will feature some of our local suppliers as well as H-E-B brands such as Field & Future by H-E-B and Texas Roots. There will be live music, children’s activities, product samples, and educational tents with information about Texas State Parks, bat conservation and more. The first community market was held in early March at the H-E-B Mueller store. Additional community markets are scheduled to roll out quarterly throughout the year, with the next event set for May 6 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at The Oaks at Slaughter H-E-B in Austin.
