Shell Lubricants was named Supplier for Year for Sustainability by Walmart at the company’s annual Supplier Summit held in Orlando, Fla., in March for the development and utilization of the "Ecobox" system, which offers environmental benefits through its approach to packaging motor oil. This innovative packaging system delivered significant results by helping reduce plastic and oil from the waste stream and improve speed in the retail giant’s Tire & Lube Express (TLEs) locations.

 

Walmart operates 2,500 TLE quick-lube facilities in the U.S.  Without the Ecobox system, Walmart TLEs would have had to discard millions of plastic quart bottles, which would have ended up in landfills. In addition, the Ecobox carton is designed to leave minimal residual oil behind, so use of Ecobox cartons helped prevent a significant amount of residual oil from the bottles being thrown away.

“We are proud to be honored by our largest customer for the significant efforts that went into developing the Ecobox system,” said Jim McCormick, senior vice president, retail sales North America for Shell Lubricants.  “We are excited to have brought to market this packaging and dispensing system that demonstrates how products with environmental benefits can also be good for business.”

 

The Ecobox system is an innovative approach to packaging motor oil developed by Shell Lubricants. Instead of using conventional plastic bottles, the Ecobox carton houses oil in a flexible plastic liner encased in cardboard. It has been attracting interest among North America’s auto service center owners for its practical and environmental benefits; it is designed to simplify transport and storage, leave less residual oil behind in the container, minimize spills and reduce waste. The Ecobox plastic liner generates 89 percent less plastic land-fill waste than the equivalent 24 quart plastic bottles, as the carton is fully recyclable.

 

For more information on Shell Oil’s Ecobox, visit www.shell.com/smartermobility.