Efforts Continue Nearly 70 Years of Environmental Stewardship
MELROSE PARK, Ill., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Jewel-Osco, a Midwest food and drug retailer, will celebrate Earth Day -- April 22nd -- by having hundreds of its associates conduct environmental clean-up projects across Chicagoland and raise awareness amongst its customers by offering a FREE reusable grocery bag to the first 200 shoppers at every store that bring in 10 plastic bags to recycle.
"Since 1940, we have worked to protect our environment and help our customers to understand and join our recycling efforts," said Jewel-Osco President Keith Nielsen. "Today's coordinated efforts are part of an ongoing commitment to help raise awareness about recycling and the need to protect our planet."
The company is also making monetary contributions to local environmental organizations in the selected project areas, as well as donating Trex benches made of recycled plastics to commemorate the date. The benches will help to serve as a reminder that recycled materials can be put to use in many creative ways.
"The environment needs everyone's help and what Jewel-Osco is doing today is an example of the kind of stewardship that makes a difference," said Acting Illinois Department of Natural Resources director Sam Flood.
Teams of Jewel-Osco volunteers in each of the company's three regional areas of operation, plus its headquarter offices, will engage in roadway cleanup, flower plantings, clearing weeds and other spring clean-up efforts to support Earth Day at the following locations:
1) Moraine Hills State Park -- McHenry Dam -- City of McHenry
McHenry Dam entrance located West of River Road south of McHenry/IL
Route 120 and North of Island Lake -- IL Route 176
2) Kosciuszko Park -- 2732 N. Avers, City of Chicago
Chicago Park District
3) Santa Fe Prairie -- State Nature Preserve Commission -- City of
Hodgkins
Located at 71st Street and River Road in Hodgkins
4) Spring Brook Nature Center, 550 W. Irving Park Road, Village of Itasca
This effort continues Jewel-Osco's long-standing heritage of environmental stewardship for which it has earned the Illinois Recycling Association's Outstanding Business Reduction and Recycling Programs Award, the Illinois Governor's Corporate Recycling Award, the Illinois Energy Award for Energy Efficiency Innovation, and the DuPage County Clean and Beautiful Award.
Jewel-Osco's recycling efforts trace to the 1940s, when a paper reduction contest was held in all stores. Efforts to reduce wrap usage, package more carefully, and lessen paper bag usage raised consumer awareness and reduced store consumption. In 1971, the company established a recycling center at its Melrose Park headquarters to recover and reuse corrugated cardboard. All stores now have baling equipment and Jewel-Osco trucks regularly haul those bales back to the recycling center where they are forwarded to re-manufacturers for use.
From 1990 through 2007, Jewel-Osco stores have recycled:
1 million tons of cardboard
That would fill 46,500 trailers aligned end to end that would stretch from
Chicago to Memphis, Tennessee
14,200 tons of plastics
That's about the weight of 2,500 elephants
1.2 million fluorescent bulbs
Enough light bulbs to stretch across 1,000 football fields
19,200 tires
When stacked, would reach over 3 miles high
140,000 gallons of oil
That's 20 transport tankers filled with oil
46,700 printer cartridges
That saved 23,350 gallons of oil
Jewel-Osco was honored for being the first major retailer in the Chicagoland area to begin grocery bag recycling and the first food retailer in this market to use egg cartons made from 100% recycled fibers.
About Jewel-Osco
Jewel-Osco stores offer consumers the convenience of combined grocery and pharmacy retail in 184 stores in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa with additional fuel centers at select locations. Originally established in 1899, the company and its associates remain committed to the communities they serve, contributing over $4 million annually to numerous local charitable causes. For more information about Jewel-Osco, please contact Public Affairs at (708) 531-6895.
About SUPERVALU INC
SUPERVALU INC. is one of the largest companies in the United States grocery channel with estimated annual sales of approximately $44 billion. SUPERVALU holds leading market share positions across the U.S. with its approximately 2,450 retail grocery locations. Through SUPERVALU's nationwide supply chain network, the company provides distribution and related logistics support services to more than 5,000 grocery retail endpoints across the country. SUPERVALU currently has approximately 190,000 employees. For more information about SUPERVALU, visit http://www.supervalu.com/.
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