Another challenge is finding space in the stores to stage recycling and composting. Major supermarkets like Von's and Ralph's started composting easily because they have back ends (nonretail areas) that are significantly larger. Whole Foods has a commitment to more retail space and less backend. Where rain isn't a problem, we stage it outside. The best place to stage compostables would be inside the produce cooler.
Wright says Whole Foods won't be able to meet its goal of zero waste unless inexpensive biopolymers and compostable plastics are developed for food service and trash liners. "Plastic bags cost half a cent," he explains. "There is no way a biopolymer bag will be that cheap due to lack of scale." Whole Foods is pushing for it, but with 200 stores it doesn't have enough volume. "It would be wonderful," he says, "if one of the major grocery store companies gets interested in green plastics, because that would make it happen."
Composting has caused stores to change purchasing practices. "We found that we were throwing out a lot of bananas and as a result, have reduced banana purchases by about 2%," Wright notes. That's an annual savings of about $220,000.
How It's Done in the East
When Lee Kane began his job as environmental coordinator for Whole Foods North Atlantic region in May 2003, he took charge of 24 stores and four facilities in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and the United Kingdom. All the stores were doing some recycling and one store in Hadley, MA. was hauling its food residuals to a local pic farmer for composting for the past three years.
Kane heard about the Supermarket Recycling Organics Initiative (SROI), a program put together by WasteCap of Massachusetts, the MA. Food Association, and the MA. Dept. of Environmental Protection to help supermarkets divert food residuals and waxed/ wet cardboard for composting. Kane used this model to encourage composting in stores in his region. Like Wright, he provided color-coded bilingual signs to
train employees in proper material separation.
Getting employees to separate organics for composting has been relatively easy. "Many people work at Whole Foods because they are committed to sustainable practices," notes Kane. "They are especially excited about composting because before they saw this wonderful material incinerated in Massachusetts, and landfilled in the rest of the region."
Kane says there is also a strong financial incentive. "We estimate we can save $7000 annually in a small-to-medium volume store and more in our higher-volume stores by composting because we pay lower tip fees for organics than for trash."
Of the 27 North Atlantic stores, 10 stores and the distribution center and commissary are composting. A new Whole Foods Market in Hingham, MA. is the first to open as a composting store. "It's very exciting because it has all the right equipment and training. The others had to be retrofitted for composting and employees had to be trained to undo old habits."
One unexpected benefit of composting is that the company is selling more of its recyclables. "We are doing a better job of recycling. The recyclables are cleaner and fewer are going into the trash," Kane says.
Kane wants to have all the stores in his region composting by the end of 2005. He also hopes to sell Whole Foods' compost in the North Atlantic stores and is in discussions with composting facilities about developing ways to package and market the compost.
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