Walmart named Shell its Supplier of the Year for Sustainability for its Ecobox lubricant packaging system, which reduced plastic and oil in the waste stream at Walmarts nearly 2,500 Tire & Lube Express locations.
The Ecobox bag-in-box system, supplied by Scholle Packaging, holds 24 quarts of oil in a flexible plastic liner encased in acardboard box. It is designed to simplify transport and storage, leave less residual oil in the container, minimize spills and reduce waste. According to Shell, the Ecobox plastic liner generates 89 percent less plastic land fill waste than the equivalent 24 quart plastic bottles, and the carton is fully recyclable.
Shell offers two types of dispensing racks for the Ecobox system to oil changers, with either gravity-fed or dynamic pump systems that can transfer oil from the box directly to an automobile engine.
Since its trial in about 200 Walmart sites in 2009, the Ecobox system has been used at more than 3,600 vehicle service centers in the United States and Canada. High demand prompted Shell to make a multi-million dollar investment in the first Ecobox production line at the Congo Lubes Plant in West Virginia.
According to National Oil & Lube News 2011 Tops in the Industry Ranking, Walmart Tire & Lube Express is the largest U.S. supplier of oil changes services, with 2,450 total U.S. stores. Shells Jiffy Lube franchise has 1,963 stores.
Shell received the award at Walmarts annual Supplier Summit held in Orlando, Fla., in March.