Stater Bros. rolls out new recycling initiative

San Bernardino, Calif. Stater Bros. Markets plans to roll out a composting program to its 166 stores that will turn organic waste into compost that can be sold to area farmers.

Under the program, items such as produce trim and cull, waxed cardboard, wooden crates and paper will be loaded onto pallets and returned via the chain's delivery trucks on a daily basis to the company's distribution center. The recyclable material then will be loaded into a 21-ton compactor and picked up daily by Community Recycling and Resource Recovery and transported to its composting facility.

Stater Bros. said it estimates the composting program will eliminate 20,000 tons from landfill each year, which will eliminate more than 1,000 tons of greenhouse-gas emissions annually.