Eco-Tech Converts Walmart Waste into Products, Jobs at New Plant

Eco-Tech Consumer Products LLC, the company that turns pre- and post-consumer waste from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. into dog bowls and liners for soft coolers, recently opened a 130,000-SF facility in east Springdale.

Based out of the old Karcher building at 603 N. Monitor Road, Eco-Tech, a subsidiary of California-based Olivet International Inc., collects waste from six Walmart return centers across the country and shaves the material down into pellets that are then used to make new products that are sold at Walmart.

“We work closely with Walmart so we wanted to be in their back yard,” said sales lead Collin Muldoon. “This was the first building that came available that met our needs.”

The plant employs 32 people, and that number is expected to rise in the near future as the Springdale plant will begin producing a product of its own — Easter baskets.

A big component of the waste stream is icing buckets from Walmart bakeries. Once the buckets are converted into pellets, the new material is shipped to facilities in California and Oklahoma for processing.

Parent company Olivet has products in a variety of categories in Walmart stores: luggage, soft-sided coolers, pet accessories, home storage, baby accessories, backpacks, lunch kits and seasonal plastics.