Date: October 17, 2011
Source: Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market (Austin, TX) has partnered with Waste Management (Houston, TX) to launch a composting program for eight of its Chicago area stores. Whole Foods ultimately plans to convert 80 percent of its wastes into soil material for use in landscaping. The stores capture out-of-date food from each of the departments, as well as from its administrative and customer service areas, and place it into a compost container that is then collected by Waste Management which takes it to a site in Romeoville, IL, where it is mixed with yard wastes and, over a six-month period, converted into compost for use in landscaping.
PRESS RELEASE
October 17, 2011
Whole Foods partners with Waste Management to compost 80% of its food waste
Whole Foods Market® raises commitment to environment with food composting program in Chicago
Natural and organic food retailer partners with Waste Management to compost 80 percent of wastes from select stores
Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) has launched a composting program, which captures food and packaging wastes, in eight of its Chicago-area stores, converting 80 percent of its wastes into soil material for use in landscaping.
Implemented at the Schaumburg and Sauganash, Chicago, locations in February 2011, the program has expanded to eight Illinois stores. Participating stores include Schaumburg, Sauganash and Lincoln Park in Chicago, Deerfield, Naperville, Palatine, Northbrook and Evanston. These stores have recovered and repurposed more than 1,100 tons of food wastes, meaning that about 10 percent of wastes are disposed of in landfills. By contrast, those eight pioneering stores used to divert only about 10 percent of their wastes.
"Prior to composting, everything went into the trash because the store couldn't recycle it," said Kaili Harding, marketing manager of Whole Foods Market Schaumburg. "It was a learning process. Now we use only a small little bin for our landfill waste, and what used to be a large garbage compactor is now our compost compactor."
Schaumburg Team Members first broached the idea of composting in 2010, but were unable to implement a program because sites were not available in the area to accept food wastes. At the time, compost sites processed yard wastes only. As interest grew from grocers and restaurateurs, Illinois approved legislation that year that allowed yard waste composting facilities to apply for permits to accept food wastes. With permitted sites available in 2011, Whole Foods Market immediately launched its program.
"Whole Foods Market is completely revolutionizing the way it handles its food waste," said Ella Plahm, Waste Management account manager. "In working with the Whole Food Market's team, we are helping them achieve their environmental and community objectives. As a company, Waste Management is committed to extracting the value from organic materials to develop new products."
The stores capture out-of-date food from each of the departments, as well as from its administrative and customer service areas, and place it into a compost container located at the rear of the store. Waste Management collects the container and takes it to a site in Romeoville, IL, where it is mixed with yard wastes and, over a six-month period, converted into compost for use in landscaping.
"Nothing goes to waste, if it can be helped," Harding said. Whole Foods Market takes pride in its contributions to local food pantries and has continued longstanding daily pickups from food pantries, "but if the food is no longer fit for human consumption, it goes to the composter," Harding said.
Each store department is equipped with green, blue and black containers. The green one, for food wastes going to compost, is the largest. The blue container is for recyclables, which are collected and transported to the Whole Foods Market distribution center in Munster, Indiana. In turn, they are shipped to a recycling processor. The black container, the smallest of the three, is for material to be disposed in a landfill.
Every Team Member tends to the team's green mission of "caring for our community and environment," Harding said. For the store's approximately 100 team members, environmental training is mandatory. In fact, each department has a green representative responsible for ensuring that food wastes are conveyed to the proper depository at the rear of the stores.
The education program also extends to customers, including signage in the store café about composting, recycling and instructions on the correct bins to place their items. In addition, maintenance Team Members go through café containers to collect more materials for composting and recycling.
In addition to the Schaumburg location at 750 Martingale Road, participating stores include two Chicago locations at 6020 N. Cicero, Ave. and 1550 N. Kingsbury St.; 760 Waukegan Road, Deerfield; 1111 Chicago Ave., Evanston; 2607 75th Street, Naperville; 840 Willow Road, Northbrook; and 1331 N. Rand Road, Palatine.
About Whole Foods Market®
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (wholefoodsmarket.com, NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America's first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named "America's Healthiest Grocery Store" by Health magazine. The company's motto, "Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet"™ captures its mission to ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to the company's nearly 60,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America by FORTUNE magazine for 14 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2010, the company had sales of more than $9 billion and currently has more than 300 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
About Waste Management
Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is one of the largest residential recycler in North America and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company's customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management, visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.
For more information, contact:
Rachel Alkon
Account Director
BRUNSWICK GROUP LLC
140 East 45th Street, 30th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Telephone 212 333 3810
Fax 212 333 3811
Mobile 646 301 6736
www.brunswickgroup.com.
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