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Supermarkets Setting New Standards in Food and Packaging Recycling
Supermarkets have traditionally discarded food wastes and various bulk packaging materials such as cardboard, plastic wrap, and glass bottles. Getting supermarkets to see the potential for successful food scraps composting and packaging recycling is the idea behind the Supermarket Organics Recycling Network (SORN).
SORN is a partnership between the Massachusetts Food Association, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and specific supermarket chains. It was developed to:
- Make store assessments;
- Train employees: and
- Provide educational materials to empower grocery store employees with the knowledge and awareness to carry out recycling and composting projects.
SORN has already provided technical assistance on recycling and composting organics to 54 supermarkets. Through its efforts, SORN has demonstrated lower cost alternatives to waste disposal, and shown that organics recycling can be a model for other industries to follow.
Some supermarket chains that have participated with SORN have also won WasteWise awards, including Big Y, Roche Brothers, Hannaford Bros., Shaw's, Stop and Shop, and Whole Foods. Participants in the supermarket organics recycling network achieved an average recycling rate of 60-75%. Last year. 8,900 tons of organics waste and 26,200 tons of cardboard were recycled by participating grocery stores resulting in over $45,000 savings per store in avoided disposal costs.
SORN has set a short term goal of having 100 supermarkets diverting organics by June 2005 and a long term goal of having all Massachusetts supermarkets in a voluntary initiative by 2008.
