Page 103 - Retail_Sustainability_Award_09-to-18
P. 103

RETAIL SUSTAIN“ABILITY AWARDS - WEIS MARKETS
and beyond as far as just putting doors on ” those cases. We’re also making some big
changes on the refrigeration racks with installing digital compressors, and still monitoring stores to watch the energy savings,” says Hazlak.
“As we improve and remodel stores, other stores will be upgraded to this stan- dardization when possible,” says Small.
Olenick predicts, “It will be an industry standard at some point.”
“What Weis Markets is doing with closed-door refrigerated cases for
bagged salads is really exciting,”
Dr. Yaguang (Sunny) Luo, research technologist for the Beltsville, based Food Quality Laboratory Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, USDA-ARS.
Dr. Luo played an integral role in ongoing USDA-ARS studies on the effects of commercial open-refrigerated displays under different operating condi- tions and their impact on the quality and microbial growth of packaged fresh-cut, leafy green products. According to Dr. Luo, maintaining proper storage temper- ature is critical for ensuring the quality
What Weis Markets is doing with closed-door refrigerated cases for
and
bagged salads is really exciting.
DR. YAGUANG LUO, FOOD QUALITY LABORATORY, USDA-ARS
says food MD-
and safety of fresh-cut products. However, substantial temperature variations within the widely used open- refrigerated display cases used in retail stores are known to present the tech- nical challenge of complying with federal guidance temperature standards for the industry. Dr. Luo says closed-door refrigerated cases are a way to alleviate
the problem.
"Storing packaged fresh-cut leafy
greens behind clear glass doors was the most cost-effective solution to enable compliance with Food Code, with consistently low temperatures below 41
°F, yet above freezing,” says Dr. Luo.
CALIBRATING THE ‘TEMPERA- TURE’ ON SUSTAINABILITY
“We were already practicing good stewardship, but we wanted to create a base to measure progress in everything we do,” says Small.
40 / MAY 2015 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
RECYCLING WAX CARDBOARD AND
OTHER WASTE
ypically wax cardboard is difficult Tto recycle. “There are no outlets for it,” explains Patti Olenick, sustain- ability manager for Weis Markets. “We’re able to partner with Enviro-Log [an eco-friendly, consumer products and recycling company headquartered in Fitzgerald, GA]. The arrangement is we collect the waxed cardboard in back of our stores, take it to our DC and load up a storage container provided by Enviro- Log, then transport it to the company’s
plant in Georgia.
“The cardboard is then converted into
the Enviro-Log and sold back in our stores. Not only is it a green product that burns cleaner, but we are turning waste into product. In 2014, we recycled more than 400 tons of waxed boxes. To add on to that, we’re avoiding disposal costs and there is no financial exchange through either party; it’s about Weis providing a resource to Enviro-Log.”
In 2014, Weis converted 35,261 tons of recycled waste in diverted landfill savings for the year, and it’s on pace for similar results this year. “Our recycling rate for the company is 47 percent,” says Olenick. The company’s goal is to increase the recycling rate by 5 percent each year toward zero waste. pb


































































































   101   102   103   104   105