2Sustain

Last week, I wrote about UK food retailers that are voluntarily committing to reduce waste.

New this week, I’ve learned that two grocery stores in Santa Barbara, California have reached “zero waste” classification in their daily operations.

Alberstons, part of the nationwide SUPERVALU family of grocery stores, announced late last month that through a combination of

• innovative recycling programs,

• a food donation program and

• a joint organic composting program with the City of Santa Barbara,

the two stores now divert all non-contaminated waste from landfills and incinerators.

In total, over 95 percent of all waste products from both stores are recycled, reused or composted – exceeding the 90 percent threshold commonly recognized as zero waste. And that means that together, the stores divert annually on average 2,074,328 pounds of waste from the landfill, including 808,200 pounds of cardboard, 27,524 pounds of plastic and 2,688 pounds of paper.

According to Albertsons, the waste diversion program hinged on two key components:

• The company partnered with the City of Santa Barbara to establish one of the first citywide composting programs in the United States. As a result of this program the city will compost 4,000,000 pounds of foodscraps from 120 program participants this year alone.

• Albertsons also donates staple and perishable product that would otherwise go unused to area food banks. Through Albertsons Fresh Rescue Program, these two stores donate on average a total of 149,598 pounds per year of food to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

“Albertsons, and SUPERVALU as a whole, is committed to leading the way on environmental sustainability and diverting all possible waste from our Santa Barbara stores is a major accomplishment in this effort,” Rick Crandall, Director of Sustainability at Albertsons, said. “In addition to keeping waste out of our landfills, we are charting a course for the future of our stores– one that will not only help our environment and the communities we serve, but also the overall success of our business.”

More information about the “zero waste” philosophy is available at the EPA’s website.