Whole Foods Market Joins National Recycling Effort

TAMPA, FL – Many health food companies champion the fact their products have simple, easy-to-understand ingredients. Likewise, Whole Foods Market is joining Recycle Across America to help consumers recycle using simple, easy-to-understand instructions.

The 26 Florida stores of the Austin, Texas-based grocery store chain joined the RAA’s Leaders for Progress initiative. As a result, all four Tampa Bay-area Whole Foods Market stores have installed standardized labels on recycling bins:

• Tampa: 1548 N. Dale Mabry Highway
• Clearwater: 27001 U.S. Highway 19 N.
• Carrollwood-Northdale: 3802 Northdale Blvd.
• Sarasota: 1451 First St.

“Recycling is a priority and a very important goal for our store locations,” said Karen Doyle, Whole Foods Market’s regional green mission specialist. “And in order for Whole Foods Market to support the recycling industry, we must recycle right. Recycle Across America’s standardized signage was the perfect match and much needed tool to support that goal.”

RAA’s standardized label initiative was proposed by its executive director, Michelle “Mitch” Hedlund, during her keynote presentation at the 2009 Solid Waste Association of North America Recycling Conference. Since then, the solution has been adopted by national industry leaders because its positive and long-lasting impact recycling can have on society and the environment.

Whole Foods Market store recycling bins now feature easy-to-understand signage for single-stream recycling, which groups all recyclable materials into one bin. Employees have been trained to better understand how to recycle correctly under this system, which allows them to properly discuss the labels with customers.

The Leaders for Progress initiative helps Whole Foods Market recycle properly and use recycled content in the manufacturing of packaging and products for cost-effective solutions. Florida is the second Whole Foods Market region to adopt the initiative after its North Atlantic region.

“RAA’s labels will help preserve natural resources and reduce the amount of waste going into the waters surrounding the state of Florida,” Hedlund said. “Florida residents and visitors benefit from standardizations in many capacities to help them act easily on their good intentions. Now the same logic will be applied to recycling. We are so proud of Whole Foods Market leadership on this critical imitative and as such a respected brand, we appreciate their partnership immensely.”

To help spread the use of the standardized labels, RAA is also working with Whole Foods Market to provide free labels for schools all over Florida.

“It’s never too early to educate the youth about recycling properly,” Doyle said. “We began the initiative in Orlando and that is noteworthy because in addition to targeting schools, we also reach Orlando’s tourists visiting from all corners of the world.”

Image courtesy of Brustman Carrino Public Relations

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