Walmart Canada Reveals Raccoon Repellent Garbage Bag

MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Walmart Canada today announced a brand new product in the Canadian market - the Great Value Mint-X Raccoon repellent garbage bag.

"Taking your trash to the curb only to find the bag shredded by a raccoon and your garbage strewn all over the place is not exactly how we like to start the day," said Sandra Farwell, vice president of private brands at Walmart Canada. "Most of the time we're careful and make sure the garbage can is secured…but every once in a while, the crafty little critters manage to crack the lid and settle in for a feast of chicken bones, vegetable peelings and other delicacies."

Well, the days of desperation are over! Walmart Canada is proud to be the only retailer in Canada to offer the Great Value Mint-X raccoon repellent garbage bag.

"We're very pleased to be providing our customers with a safe and innovative solution to what is often a very frustrating situation," added Ms Farwell. "The Great Value Mint-X bag is one of those products that just makes sense."

Developed in partnership with Mint-X and Walmart Canada's Great Value private label team, the Great Value Mint-X garbage bag comes in two formats - 30, 70 litre bags and 20, 121 litre bags, both $6.97 and now available at Walmart stores across Canada.

"It's exciting to see the expansion of our Mint-X solution in the Canadian market," said Jeff Dussich, Chief Operating Officer, Mint-X. "Mint-X bags are already being used across the U.S., from New York to Los Angeles and they are proven to be effective, even against the toughest raccoons in North America."

The secret

Mint has long been a home remedy for keeping rodents out of gardens, so the key was to incorporate the smell of mint into the trash bags. Olfactory cues are much keener in rodents than in humans and so much more important to their survival. A rodent's nasal cavity is comprised of 50% olfactory tissue compared to only 5% for humans.  For this reason the mint scent is extremely irritating to rodents, while appealing and refreshing to humans.

Great Value Mint-X bags are proven effective at repelling rodents because an all natural, mint scented fragrance that is added to the plastic during the manufacturing process. In a study conducted by the University of Maryland, School of Medicine Comparative Medicine Program in 2011, two bags are placed in a test area over a seven day period, one Mint-X bag and one standard untreated bag, both filled with standardized food. In this test, the Mint-X bag proved 100% repellence of raccoons, while the non-Mint-X bags were penetrated 67% of the time.

About Walmart Canada

Walmart Canada operates a growing chain of more than 375 locations nationwide serving more than one million customers each day, as well as its flagship online store, www.walmart.ca, which is visited by over 250,000 Canadians daily. With over 95,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and is recognized by Waterstone Human Capital as having one of Canada's top 10 corporate cultures. Walmart Canada is focused on helping Canadian families in need. Since 1994, Walmart has donated and raised more than $160 million to Canadian charities and not-for-profit organizations. Additional company information can be found at walmartcanada.ca, facebook.com/walmartcanada and at twitter.com/walmartcanada.

About Mint-X Corporation

Mint-X Corporation is the inventor of the world's only US EPA and Health Canada PMRA registered trash bag that is proven to reduce the number of trash bags torn by raccoons and rats.  Based in New York City, Mint-X Trash Bags were invented by one of the largest heavy duty trash bag distributors in the Northeastern US, as a solution to the problem caused by rodents creating an unsanitary mess when tearing through trash bags.  Mint-X Trash Bags are infused with a proprietary and patented mint scent, comprised of food grade, plant derived essential oils.  Additional company information can be found at mint-x.com and mint-x.ca.

Image with caption: "Box of 20 bags 121 litres (CNW Group/Walmart Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130425_C8551_PHOTO_EN_25986.jpg

Image with caption: "Box of 30 bags 70 litres (CNW Group/Walmart Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130425_C8551_PHOTO_EN_25988.jpg

SOURCE: Walmart Canada

For further information:

Have a question? Give us a call or send us an email:

Alex Roberton, Director Corporate Affairs and Social Media, Walmart Canada
[e-mail]
416 526 0981

Jeff Dussich, Chief Operating Officer, Mint-X
[e-mail]
877 646 8224