GreenRU | 2255 Little Wall Lake Road, Blairsburg, IA 50034
Organic Waste Diversion
855-RU-VERDE
A Chamness Company
Hy-Vee One Million Pound Milestone
A dozen Hy-Vee stores collectively contributed to 1,074,060 pounds of food waste diverted from landfills in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City area. Eight Cedar Rapids stores began a diversion program with GreenRU in March 2013 with four Iowa City area stores beginning the program soon after in April 2013. Since implementation of GreenRU’s program, these stores collectively reached the One Million pound diversion milestone in January 2014.
Area coordinator for GreenRU, Demetrios Hadjis, who works extensively with the corridor Hy-Vee stores, commented on Hy-Vee’s efforts to promote sustainability:
“Hy-Vee is an iconic, Iowa-based company that is renowned for exceptional customer service and high quality products. Hy-Vee’s sustainability mission strives to bring healthy lifestyles and healthy environments together, and as a company, they excel in doing so.” GreenRU is a leading Iowa-Based food diversion company that partners with companies like Hy-Vee to take food scraps or food that cannot be donated to local food pantries to a certified composting site. The collection is then generated into nutrient rich compost and kept out of landfills.
The program gained support in Cedar Rapids from Hy-Vee personnel, including Greg Wery, the Store Director for the Hy-Vee store on Wilson Avenue in Cedar Rapids, the first store to begin diversion back in March of 2013. He stated about their work with GreenRU, “The partnership with GreenRU has allowed the corridor Hy-Vee stores an important opportunity to be that much more environmentally friendly. Diverting a million pounds of waste was surprisingly easy thanks to a well-organized system, executed by Hy-Vee and GreenRU. It’s a great feeling knowing that a million pounds of compostable material has been re-purposed and diverted from our landfills”
The program in Iowa City gained similar support from Janelle Cooperman, the perishables manager for the Iowa City store on South First Avenue. She had this to say about their work with GreenRU, “We were very excited to partner with GreenRU. We are always looking for practical ways to decrease our carbon footprint. It is very important in our community to do what we can to help the environment. Green RU has allowed us the opportunity to do so.”
The collection from the Cedar Rapids area stores is being diverted to the Linn County Solid Waste Agency’s pilot compost site. Food waste diverted from Iowa City area stores is taken to the City of Iowa City compost site.
Hy-Vee and GreenRU’s efforts earned praise from the Linn County Solid Waste Agency.
“The Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency commends Hy-Vee for their accomplishment,” says the Agency’s Executive Director Karmin McShane. “Diverting more than one million pounds of out-of-date fruits and vegetables from landfilling requires employee training and dedication.” To help get them started, area Hy-Vee stores took part in the Solid Waste Agency’s three-month composting pilot program. “After completing the pilot, participating stores continued diverting organics to the compost facility, reducing landfilled material as well as greenhouse gas emissions—great benefits to the community,” added McShane.
Jennifer Jordan, the Recycling Coordinator for Iowa City Landfill & Recycling Center commended Hy-Vee’s efforts by saying, “The Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center is very pleased that the Iowa City Hy-Vee stores are diverting non-edible organic material for composting. Instead of going into the landfill where it would create methane, the organic material is being processed into Iowa City Community Compost and used to improve soil in our community. Hy-Vee is setting a great example for the community!”
Hy-Vee Testimonials
- Jason Busswitz, Manager of Store Operations, Cedar Rapids Store #7:
“Working with GreenRU is hassle free…from their very clean maintenance standards to their steady follow-up. Great for the environment, this program is a no-brainer”- Mark Forscht, Perishable Manager, Cedar Rapids Store #7:
“The GreenRU sustainable approach keeps food waste out of landfills. We are proud to help our community by pitching in”- Max Dains, Store Director, Ottumwa Store #1:
”…cut down on trash hauling bill to the landfill and we are doing the right thing…”- Brent Highfill, President Florist Distributing Inc., & Assistant VP, Hy-Vee:
"It is very easy to use, saves money and it’s the right thing to do".