Last week, the Rochester, NY based grocer announced an effort to use less plastic, reduce food waste, and use renewable and recycled content in a sustainability commitment posted on their website.
“We’ve committed to reducing our in-store plastic packaging made from fossil fuels, along with other single-use plastics, by 10 million pounds by 2024. To meet this goal, we’re eliminating some of our current plastic packaging and replacing it with materials made from plant-based renewable fiber,” stated the company. “All store-brand eggs come in a carton that is recyclable, biodegradable and compostable,” Wegmans explained.
Wegman’s new egg cartons, formerly made of polystyrene foam, are made of 100% post-consumer recycled newsprint and paper products. The switch allows the grocer to eliminate 625,000 pounds of foam from their store locations each year.
In April 2021, the new recyclable cartons were launched for an eight week test run at Wegmans stores in Massachusetts. After a successful test run, and the cartons were distributed throughout the store locations in early summer. “All of Wegmans brand eggs are now available in a paper pulp carton that is recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable,” stated the company.
The grocer, supplied by Kreher Family Farms, has over 100 stores located in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and North Carolina with expansions concentrated in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.
Several companies have already begun the transition toward recyclable packaging due to the push from consumers. Finding a way for companies to reduce plastic packaging waste is important to consumers according to Bioplastics News in which “nearly half (48%) of all consumers worldwide expect manufacturers to take the lead, saying they have the most responsibility to act.” Additionally, a survey in 2019 from Innova Market Insights found that approximately half of the survey participants indicated they would pay more for products from companies devoted to reducing plastic waste.
