A handful of Walmart, Target and CVS stores in northern California are piloting programs designed to increase the use of reusable bags among shoppers. One of the programs involves a “bags as a service” solution created by California-based promotional products supplier ChicoBag (asi/44811).

ChicoBag and 99Bridges have created a “reusable bags as a service” solution that includes a rewards app tracking how often the bags are reused.

Earlier this year, Closed Loop Partners announced nine winners of its Beyond the Bag Challenge, which called for innovative ways to combat plastic waste. For the next six weeks, Walmart, Target and CVS – founding members of a consortium to reinvent the retail bag – will be testing out the solutions the winners came up with.

“We believe climate change requires bold collective action,” said Jane Ewing, senior vice president of sustainability at Walmart. “Minimizing plastic waste, in particular, depends on collaboration and cooperation across the retail industry.”

For 6 weeks, select #BeyondtheBag Challenge winners will be piloted across 9 @CVSHealth, @Target and @WalmartInc stores in Northern California, advancing reuse solutions for a more sustainable future for #retail. https://t.co/GhIrLn8hdC #pilots #reuse #ReuseRevolution

— Closed Loop Partners (@LoopFund) August 4, 2021

ChicoBag’s service enables customers to borrow reusable bags on-site and get rewards for each reuse, powered by 99Bridges’ Mosaic app. Shoppers who opt to participate receive a smart bag and scan it into the Mosaic app to register the bag. Once it’s registered, shoppers earn reward points each time it’s reused at a participating store.

If you forget your reusable bag, you can get another one from the store and pay a deposit of $3. That money is refunded when the replacement bag is turned back in. The returned bags would be laundered and inspected, then returned to circulation. “You’re basically checking the bag out like you would a library book,” Andy Keller, founder and president of ChicoBag, has said about his company’s solution.

The reusable bag service and associated rewards app will be piloted at two CVS stores in Palo Alto, CA, and a Target in Redwood City.

Other California stores in the pilot program will be testing out a solution created by GOATOTE, where shoppers can borrow clean, reusable bags from a kiosk system. Bags are free as long as they’re returned to a kiosk within 30 days. Usage is tracked via an app. Another cluster of stores will pilot Fill it Forward, which involves a digital tag and app that connects to reusable bags customers already own, offering opportunities to support charity organizations, earn rewards and track environmental impact.

In addition to the in-store pilots, other winning solutions from the Beyond the Bag Challenge will be piloted and tested in different contexts. Returnity and Eon will pilot through Walmart delivery in select markets since home delivery has become a significant portion of shopping. Domtar, PlasticFri and Sway – companies developing alternative materials to single-use plastic – will undergo rigorous material performance and recovery testing to optimize their designs to meet the needs of retailers and customers and match the specifications of recycling and composting facilities.

Eliminating the 100 billion single-use plastic bags currently used every year in the U.S. requires a multi-pronged approach, according to Kate Daly, managing director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. “Knowing that systems change does not happen overnight, these pilots are an essential step to test, incorporate customer and retailer feedback, and improve new solutions, exploring pathways to scale,” she added.

The lessons learned from the pilot programs will help inform further iterations of the solutions, according to Closed Loop Partners.

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