This year, the retailer will give away 276,000 reusable bags to customers across Texas
As part of its annual Earth Day celebration, H-E-B will give away 276,000 free reusable bags to customers across Texas. Beginning at 8 a.m. 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, while supplies last. Since 2008, H-E-B has given out more than 3.4 million reusable bags in celebration of Earth Day.
This year, the bag features Garner State Park, which is situated along the Frio River. This design is the third and final installment in a three-year series that featured state parks in Texas. For $1.50, customers can purchase additional Earth Day reusable bags, which are mostly made from ocean-bound plastic, which is plastic waste at high risk of entering the ocean from where it was recovered.
The 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 reducing 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.
During Earth Month and throughout the year, H-E-B has multiple efforts aimed at supporting clean-up opportunities and waste reduction efforts across its business and among its customers.
Continuing its outreach to make recycling accessible to more communities, 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. This year, H-E-B selected four communities with Recycling for Texans grants to support community recycling centers in Carrizo Springs, Columbus, Del Rio, and Eagle Pass. The grants will support outreach and education initiatives, and equipment. Since 2021, H-E-B has given out nearly $1 million in grants to 15 communities, providing recycling improvements for more than 720,000 residents.
Through H-E-B’s Our Texas, Our Future commitment, the retailer is sponsoring the Trash Free Gulf campaign, which gives Texans an opportunity to participate in litter cleanups in every major watershed and along the coastline to work towards a Trash Free Gulf. During May, Texans can find opportunities and volunteer for a cleanup event by visiting trashfreegulf.com.
School Plastic Bag Recycling Challenge
From March 2 through April 3, 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, 816 schools in Texas collected over 8.4 million plastic bags for the challenge, surpassing the previous record of 6.7 million bags collected in 2025. This year a record was set for one school, Early Childhood Center from Eagle Pass, Texas collected more than 1.4 million bags. Since 2022, the School Plastic Bag Challenge has recycled nearly 25 million plastic bags.
Every school that participated in the challenge will receive a gift card as a token of appreciation for their efforts. The more bags the school collects, the higher the value of the gift card. Gift Cards range from $250 – up to $1,000.
Because H-E-B Partners (employees) are committed to taking their own steps to beautify Texas, many have volunteered at outdoor events, tree plantings, and community cleanups throughout Earth Month and on Earth Day. H-E-B stores across the state will also host in-store events to celebrate Earth Day with their customers and communities. To celebrate this Earth Month, H-E-B also has partnered with local organizations that provide opportunities and raise awareness around sustainable practices. Events can be found on the H-E-B community events calendar.
Contamination remains the number one barrier to effective recycling. 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. The retailer continues to expand this effort, and How2Recycle labels are on more than 6,800 H-E-B brand items under the H-E-B, Hill Country Fare, Central Market, and Mi Tienda labels.
Launched last year in Central Texas, in partnership with Goodwill Central Texas and the Central Texas Food Bank, the Carrying Goodness program has now expanded to San Antonio. The Carrying Goodness program is an effort to repurpose reusable bags, keeping them out of landfills. For the program, donation-filled or empty reusable bags can be dropped off at any Goodwill location in Central Texas and San Antonio. Goodwill then gives the clean bags to the food bank to use in food distributions or to offer free bags to clients. The retailer is in the planning stages to expand this effort to the Houston area.
Every H-E-B store also has collection bins at the front entrance for customers to recycle 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. Curbside customers can bring eligible plastic items to be recycled when they pick up their orders as well.
Additionally, H-E-B customers can support sustainability efforts through the retailer’s annual donation campaign, which runs through May 5 and benefits H-E-B Trees for Texans, an effort in partnership with Texan by Nature to plant native trees at schools and throughout communities. Customers can join in the effort to help plant native trees across Texas and donate at H-E-B registers in store and online when placing Curbside and Home Delivery orders.
Since 2012, H-E-B has contributed more than $20 million to over 500 environmental organizations in land and water conservation, habitat and coastal preservation, and community cleanups.
