United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA-530-F-98-023e
September 1998
www.epa.gov/osw
&EPA
Larry's Markets
Seattle, Washington
90% Recovery of Food and Floral Discards
f'90!
*,
Larry's Markets recovers approximately 870 tons oforganics annually
through its off-site composting and rendering programs. Stores also donate
canned goods to local charities. The chain realizes a net savings of $40-$55 per ton of
material recovered (about $41,000 per year).
Program Description
In 1991, the head of the Environmental
Affairs Program at this Seattle-based
grocery chain performed an audit and found
organics to be the largest part by volume of
its waste stream. In order to reduce costs
and expand its efforts towards total
environmental responsibility, Larry's Markets
began using energy-efficient lighting and
heating and cooling systems, donating
canned goods, and recycling materials
including food and floral discards for
composting.
As part of Larry's Markets'waste
reduction efforts, a project team
including management from all five
stores worked to create a food recovery
program that would fit into employee
daily activities. Recycling, including
composting, is now part of every
employee's job description. In the
produce department, staff put
unsaleable produce and trimmings
in unlined plastic tubs, which they
wash periodically. The tubs sit on
the bottom level of the cart staff
use to stock produce. When tubs
are full, staff put them on a
central cart which holds eight
tubs. They then bring full
central carts outside and dump
them into 1 1/2-cubic-yard
containers. These containers used to serve
as garbage dumpsters; now stores keep their
garbage in compactors until it is picked up,
less than once a week. Previously, garbage
had been picked up twice a week.
At the beginning, hauling compostables
from stores was problematic. The hauling
company experimented with various trucks
and containers, but due to the weight of wet
organics, trucks often reached their hauling
weight limit before they had been to every
store. This problem was solved by splitting
the pick-up route between two trucks. In
1995, Larry's Markets contracted with two
additional companies that haul organics and
run composting sites. These companies pick
up from stores near their sites. With three
haulers picking up compostables, no hauler
has a problem with weight limits. The
discards are composted with yard trimmings,
soil, and other organics to produce topsoil.
Closing the loop, Larry's Markets uses the
topsoil in its landscaping.
Contact:
Director
Environmental Affairs, Planning and
Information Services
Larry's Markets
699 120th Street, N.E.
Bellevue.WA 98005
(206)453-5031 ext.403
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Odors in the summer were a
problem at first until the stores moved
to more frequent pick-up of their
compostables. Now, they are picked
up two or three times a week from
each store. Larry's Markets has had no
vector problems.
The chain sends meat and fish
bones,fat,and skin to a rendering
facility. Staff in the meat and fish
departments store trimmings in tubs in
a 40°F cooler. Once a week Darling
Delaware Company empties these tubs.
Depending on the current market,
Larry's Markets pays either nothing or
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