Weis Associates Sign ‘Trash Treaty’
Associates at 164 Weis Markets stores were expected to sign the company’s ‘Trash Treaty” as a commitment to take part in the grocer’s daily recycling programs.
The pledge was part of Monday’s celebration of America Recycles Day, which was started by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful to encourage people to recycle more at home, work and on the go, and to buy recycled products. The Trash Treaty reinforces the company’s efforts to reduce waste, recycle and find new opportunities to reduce its impact on the environment.
“We are proud that all Weis associates are participating in America Recycles Day and are making an effort to conserve natural resources by recycling every day,” said David Hepfinger, Weis Markets president and CEO. “Today, it’s not just about trash or garbage. There’s more to it and we want our associates to be more aware of what can be recycled or reused.”
As part of this pledge, Weis Markets’ associates are acknowledging that trash disposal is expensive and is a source of pollution that creates unnecessary greenhouse gases. Each pledges to understand the benefits of recycling to the environment and their company.
“We know that 80 percent of what we discard can be recycled or reused. As a company that’s been recycling for 30 years, we recycled 1.5 million pounds of plastic bags and 45.8 million pounds of cardboard in 2009,” said Patti Olenick, Weis sustainability specialist. “Our Trash Treaty reflects our collective commitment to do even more in the coming years.”
Olenick also said her company is also involved in two pilot programs evaluating the feasibility of composting food waste that’s typically discarded. Because the largest portion of a grocery store’s waste stream is food waste, Weis is looking for ways to recycle food waste and turn it into compost.
As part of America Recycles Day, Weis featured a buy-one-get-one-free deal on its newly redesigned reusable shopping bags, made with Microban to prohibit bacterial growth.
Founded in 1912, Weis Markets operates 164 stores in its home state of Pennsylvania as well as Maryland, New York, New Jersey and West Virginia.