Albertsons Companies Recycles on America Recycles Day and Every Day

For most households, there isn’t much of a difference between throwing something in the trash or recycling. We collect the things that we don’t want anymore, put them in their respective bins, and trucks come and take it all away. After that is when the magic of recycling happens. Something we once thought of as having no value, like an empty soda-can, becomes a new and valuable product, like an aluminum bike frame.

For this transformation to happen, we have to make sure we are recycling the right materials and purchasing products made with recycled content. America Recycles Day is November 15 and is the perfect time to make sure we’re all doing our part to make recycling work by recycling right and buying recycled products.

How We Do Our Part at Albertsons Companies

While America Recycles Day happens only once a year, Albertsons Companies stores, offices, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers recycle every day. Last year alone we recycled millions of pounds of materials from our operations, including:

• More than 705 million pounds of cardboard. According to the EPA, that’s the equivalent of saving more than 5 million trees
• Over 22 million pounds of plastic bags and plastic wrap, enough plastic to be recycled into more than 22,000 long-lasting composite decks

Recycling isn’t where our work ends. We know that by buying items made with recycled content, we can support recycling markets. We do this in a variety of ways, including:

• Some of our stores offer plastic shopping bags that are made from 65% recycled content, including 40% post-consumer resin. A portion of the plastic bags and film we collect are even diverted to our bag manufacturer to be incorporated into new plastic bags.
• Our more than 1,700 pharmacies are switching to 100% recycled content prescription bags that meet Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards for recycled content.

How Our Customers Can Do Their Part

Knowing what can go in the recycling bin can be confusing — so much so that 1 out of every 4 items Americans put in the bin aren’t actually recyclable. To make sure you’re recycling right, here are a couple of things you can do:

• Contact your local recycling agency to get more information about what you can put in your curbside bin or take to drop off locations
• Bring your plastic bags and plastic wrap to one of our participating stores. We accept a variety of clean and dry plastic bags and plastic wrap in our stores, including plastic bags, bread bags, produce bags, air pillows or bubble wrap used in shipping, and more. Check here to see which items you can bring to a store near you.

When you buy products made of recycled materials, you support the recycling market and help the paper, plastic, glass, and metal you put in the bin be transformed into new products.

Examples of the many products made with recycled content include our Open Nature product line of napkins, paper towels, and bath tissue. They’re all made of 100% recycled content and at least 50% post-consumer recycled content. Our portfolio of Own Brands plastic packaging will contain at least 20% recycled content by 2025.

This America Recycles Day let’s all do our part by recycling right and buying recycled.

Learn more about our recent Plastics and Packaging Pledge and/or our company-wide sustainability initiatives.