Every Day is Earth Day at Earth Fare – New Plastic Bag Recycling Program
Earth Fare, the Healthy Supermarket
2965 Battleground Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27408
Ph: 336-369-0190
Fx: 336-369-0194
CONTACT
Debbie Foster Fuchs
Regional Marketing Coordinator
Office: 336-369-0190, x208
E-mail: Debbie.fuchs@earthfare.com
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE —
Every Day is Earth Day at Earth Fare – New Plastic Bag Recycling Program
Asheville, N.C., April 18, 2006 – In honor of Earth Day, Earth Fare is rolling out its new plastic bag recycling program at all store locations on Saturday, April 22. Customers can stop by and place their plastic bags in the specified containers and feel good about making a difference on Earth Day and on every day they choose to recycle their plastic shopping bags.
The plastic bag recycling program will enable Earth Fare to recycle approximately 50,000 pounds of plastic materials each year and effectively remove 10 Metric Tons Carbon Equivalent (MTCE) from the air. The bags will then be reincarnated into various items like industrial trash can liners, wood-polymer lumber for decking and building materials, drain pipes, plastic envelopes, and even new plastic bags.
This new recycling program was implemented by Liz Bowen, Earth Fare’s environmental coordinator, who was hired in January 2006 to evaluate recycling and waste reduction efforts companywide. Liz has a degree in environmental geology from the College of Charleston and is currently working towards certification in recycling and composting systems. She is also serving on the Carolina Composting Council steering committee and has recently been a speaker at environmental conferences such as, Biocycle and the Carolina Recycling Association.
Since coming on board at Earth Fare, Liz has been gathering waste and energy baseline data from all 12 stores within the chain. Using this data, future plans include composting, bio-diesel fuel for Earth Fare delivery trucks, wind energy credits, and expanding the recycling categories currently available for customers at Earth Fare stores.
“Implementing the plastic bag recycling program was a great beginning project for my work with Earth Fare, and a perfect addition to the recycling programs we already offer our customers,” says Liz Bowen. “The joy for me in this job comes from connecting the dots – figuring out what items found in our trash can be made into something useful like furniture, building supplies and fuel. Recycling just makes good sense. One day we will look back and be astounded at the wasted resources in our waste.”
All Earth Fare locations offer customers recycling for plastic 1 and 2, paper, glass, aluminum, batteries, cell phones, and now, plastic shopping bags. “These offerings will continue to expand as Liz creates and implements new ways for Earth Fare to grow in a greener direction,” says Troy DeGroff, director of sales and marketing. “Through these conscientious efforts and our commitment to community service, we are making strides in contributing to the broadest sense of the term healthy environment, which is a vital part of Earth Fare’s mission.”
Today, Earth Fare has grown into a premier chain of natural foods supermarkets located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. All Earth Fare supermarkets provide customers with real food that tastes better – fresh, locally grown organic produce, artisan products such as raw milk cheeses and specialty wines, traditional hard crusted bakery breads and pastries, as well as antibiotic and hormone-free meats and poultry, and sustainably harvested seafood.
# # #
