Four Seattle Albertsons Stores Reach Zero Waste Milestone
Four Supervalu-owned Albertsons stores in the greater Seattle area reached a major sustainability milestone by diverting 90 percent of their waste -- a total of 2.6 million pounds -- annually from landfills.
“Being a strong community partner is extremely important to Albertsons,” said Mike Clawson, president of Albertsons Intermountain West Division. “We not only offer our customers the products they want, but do so in a sustainable way that can make them feel good about shopping with us.”
To achieve recognition as a zero waste store within Supervalu and Albertsons, an individual store must divert a minimum of 90 percent of all waste from landfills, and set a goal to eventually achieve 100 percent waste diversion. These stores were recently audited by Supervalu sustainability team and certified as having a total waste diversion rate of over 90 percent.
“Supervalu and Albertsons remain fully committed to being an industry leader in the area of environmental sustainability,” said Pete Pearson, Supervalu’s director of sustainability and national accounts. “Our ultimate goal is to move all of our stores toward zero waste, a long-term journey that starts with individual stores like these. The milestone achievement in these stores is something our company, store associates and, most of all, our customers, can be extremely proud of as we continue our sustainability efforts.”
The specific stores locations, as well as their annual waste diversion figures, are:
Kirkland, Wash. (91.4 percent total waste diversion)
- Recycled – 363,096 pounds
- Composted – 26,000 pounds
- Donated to food bank – 210,224 pounds
Milton, Wash. (92.48 percent total waste diversion)
- Recycled – 335,756 pounds
- Composted – 187,200 pounds
- Donated to food bank – 158,453 pounds
Mountlake Terrace, Wash. (90.76 percent total waste diversion)
- Recycled – 406,607 pounds
- Composted – 213,160 pounds
- Donated to food bank - 129,922 pounds
Woodinville, Wash. (95.16 percent total waste diversion)
- Recycled – 349,086 pounds
- Composted – 187,200 pounds
- Donated to food bank – 72,261 pounds
In June of 2011, Supervalu announced a commitment to transition 40 stores to zero waste operations during the company's current fiscal year, which ends on February 25, 2012. In late 2010, two Albertsons stores in Santa Barbara, Calif. became the first to reach this milestone by diverting over 95 percent of waste from landfills, the first U.S. retail grocery stores to announce the achievement.
Albertsons operates 447 Albertsons and Lucky supermarkets in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.