Shaw’s Cuts Landfill Waste 90%

WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — Shaw’s Supermarkets, a division of Supervalu,  announced that five of its locations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have diverted over 90% of all store waste from local landfills.

Accomplished through recycling, organic composting and food donations, Shaw’s stores have kept more than 32 million pounds of waste out of local landfills and donated over 2 million meals to local food banks and hunger relief efforts since 2011.

In November 2010, these five Shaw’s stores were generating an average of 745 pounds of waste each day per store, whereas today each store is averaging just over 200 pounds of landfill waste per day, a 268% reduction. In addition, Shaw’s has eliminated 1,257 full garbage truck trips annually to the landfill. Shaw’s goal — like that of parent company Supervalu — is to completely eliminate landfill waste from its operations.

“Creating a culture of sustainability is a key tenant for Shaw’s, and I’m proud of the efforts our associates have taken to help these five stores achieve this important milestone,” said Mike Stigers, president, Shaw’s, in a statement. “We’ve made tremendous progress to reduce the amount of trash that is going to our landfills, having cut the amount in half in the last year alone.  However, this is just the beginning for us, and we are excited to build on this achievement moving forward.”