Recycling
With disposal space in landfills shrinking rapidly, Safeway is doing its part to support the global drive towards Zero Waste business practices. In California, Safeway's stores divert an average of 85% of material from landfill disposal.

In 2009, we expanded our recycling programs to include:

Piloting a four-store composting program in Alaska, diverting 25 tons of waste from landfills

Adding additional stores in Hawaii to our compost program, diverting 19.5 tons of waste from Hawaiian landfills

Conducting trash audits in each of our U.S. divisions, diverting an additional 17,621 tons of trash from landfills across the country

Each of these programs reduces the cost of waste hauling and disposal, and the negative carbon footprint associated with these activities. They also help municipalities reach mandated reductions in solid waste.
In recognition of our material reduction efforts at our stores, distribution centers and corporate headquarters in California, Safeway received the WRAP Award (Waste Reduction Award Program) from the California Integrated Waste Management Board—this is the twelfth consecutive year we have received the WRAP Award.

Our combined programs diverted a total of 519,637 tons of material, including:

Corrugated cardboard and paper: 299,846 tons

Plastics: 8,819 tons

Compost: 110,316 tons

Food waste: 32,641 tons

Miscellaneous recycled materials: 68,015

Packaging
At Safeway, we are minimizing the impact our business operations have not only on the planet, but in the communities where we do business. As part of our sustainability strategy, we are doing our part to reduce our atmospheric waste while closing the loop on recycled plastics and supporting the growth of recycling industries in North America.

In 2009, we took an important step in our effort to support Zero Waste business activities by increasing the use of rPET (recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate) in our Eating Right™ and Safeway SELECT® brand packaging.

The decision to use rPET will effectively:

Divert 261,000 pounds of plastic away from landfills

Conserve more than 69,000 gallons of gasoline each year

Remove 1,414 barrels of oil from Safeway's annual fossil fuel consumption

Remove 608 metric tons of CO2 from our atmosphere

As a result of using rPET, our Eating Right and Safeway SELECT® brand items now have packaging made from 25 percent post-consumer recycled content.

Safeway also became the first U.S. retailer to introduce the wide-scale use of glassine bakery bread bags for everyday bakery items. Glassine is a 100% recyclable, fully compostable paper manufactured with wood-based fibers from well-managed, renewable forests—an initiative that would potentially keep approximately 56 million bread bags from becoming landfill each year.

Reusable Bags
As one of the first major grocers to offer reusable bags on a large scale, Safeway continues to lead an industry-wide commitment to reduce all single-use, disposable bags, including paper and plastic.

Customers can now find a Safeway reusable bag for every shopping occasion, including bags specifically for frozen items. As an added benefit, we began offering a discount in a number of our divisions on all Bright Green™ products to those customers who remember to use their reusable bags.

With the increased use of reusable bags, the demand for plastic is expected to decline, potentially saving millions of plastic shopping bags from becoming landfill each year.