Home improvement retail giant The Home Depot announced today the achievement of one of its sustainability goals, eliminating expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film from new packaging for its private-brand products.

In announcing the milestone, The Home Depot noted that between 2017 and 2023 it had redesigned over 1,280 packages as part of its efforts to reduce environmental impact. The company formally committed to reducing its environmental footprint via packaging redesign in 2020, pledging especially to reduce or eliminate the use of EPS foam (polystyrene) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) in its private-brand products sold in the U.S., Canada and online.

While EPS foam is effective at preventing damage to products, it contains beads of chemicals and oil that are often difficult to recycle and can take more than a century to biodegrade. PVC, a thin, rigid synthetic plastic polymer that’s molded around products to secure and protect them, is effective in that capacity as well, but like EPS, it is difficult to recycle and takes a long time to break down naturally.

In 2023 alone, The Home Depot eliminated 39 million square feet of PVC film and approximately 6.0 million cubic feet of EPS from product packaging and replaced them with molded pulp and paper. By doing so, the company said, it seeks to reduce its environmental footprint, lower shipping costs, and provide customers with a better experience by reducing their packaging waste. The company’s new packaging goal is for all new private-brand fiber packaging to be compostable, recyclable or made with recycled content in its U.S. and Canada stores by the start of fiscal 2027.

Candace Rodriguez, Senior Director of Sustainability at The Home Depot, said:

“We believe that by embedding sustainability into our business strategy, we can create long-term success for our associates, customers, communities, and shareholders. Our efforts to promote operational efficiencies, minimize waste, and drive product innovation will help us move our industry forward.”

The company said it would continue to take further strides to redesign packaging with the aim of reducing harmful materials, encouraging composting and recycling, and reducing the amount of packaging used for products.