Recycling Initiatives & Options
Source:
Food 4 less
Recycling Initiatives
Our stores, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers and offices participate in a number of recycling programs that divert materials away from landfills and promote better environmental stewardship. Among the items being recycled are old corrugated cardboard, plastic bags and shrink wrap, scrap metal, glass, office paper, aluminum, newspaper and other materials.
Some examples of our recycling initiatives within our Kroger Family of Stores include:
· In California, our Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores compost their produce trim and culls along with out-of-date bread and deli items. This program diverts tons of trash from state landfills. In 2006, Ralphs and Food 4 Less composted nearly 59,000 tons.
· At our Kroger division in Columbus, Ohio, old pallets are recycled for mulch, animal bedding, fuel and other uses.
· King Soopers’ main office in Denver recycles approximately 2,500 pounds of office paper each month.
· Our Kroger Mid-South division, based in Louisville, Kentucky, recycled more than 30,200 tons of cardboard in 2006.
Recycling Options
We appreciate and respect that our customers increasingly recognize us as a leader in helping them to do their part regarding environmental stewardship. In facilitating our customers' efforts, many of our divisions participate in recycling efforts in local communities where we operate. Plastic bags, for example, that are returned to our stores are recycled into a variety of items, including plastic bags, landscape bricks and plastic lumber.
Other examples include:
· In Oregon, our Fred Meyer stores help our customers recycle their bottles and cans by providing and staffing the machines that residents use to return their bottles and cans to receive refunds. In 2006, nearly 207 million cans and bottles were recycled at Fred Meyer’s 50 stores in Oregon.
· Customers in our Kroger Mid-South division, based in Louisville, Kentucky, helped the division recycle 632,000 pounds of plastic bags in 2006.