KEASBEY, N.J. — Wakefern Food Corp. here has been awarded the Garden State Green Award in the Corporate Citizen category by the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce. The award is given to organizations that have a significant positive impact on the environment through their daily business practices.
The Garden State Green Award is part of the N.J. Chamber of Commerce Garden State Green Fest and the annual PSEG Global Green Expo. Both events highlight green topics from lifestyle and home and garden to construction, business, energy, and conservation.
"The competition was strong and Wakefern Food Corp. should be very proud of this achievement," said Ruth Coules, producer of the events, in a statement.
Wakefern, a cooperative wholesaler owned by ShopRite retailers, is working on everything from reducing the amount of shopping bags in stores to making more reusable bags available. The corporation has historically been active with recycling and taking materials out of the waste stream. In the last two years more than 70 million bags were reused by ShopRite customers and diverted from landfills.
"We have our own recycling center in Elizabeth, N.J., which is helpful in this regard," said Karen Meleta, Wakefern's vice president of consumer and corporate communications, in a statement.
Wakefern is also in the early stages of composting, and is looking at the best options for that, such as regional composting and on-site digesters.
