September 13, 2016

WHOLE FOODS MARKET® PARTNERS WITH RECYCLE ACROSS AMERICA TO BENEFIT MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SCHOOLS

Whole Foods

(Photo Courtesy of WHOLE FOODS MARKET®)

Whole Foods Market Miami stores will team up with nonprofit organization Recycle Across America (RAA) for a metro wide five percent donation day on Tues., Sept. 13. All six Miami area Whole Foods Market stores (Aventura, Coral Gables, Downtown Miami, North Miami, Pinecrest and South Beach) will donate five percent of the day’s net sales in an effort to bring standardized recycling labels to 542 schools in Miami-Dade County.

In an effort to streamline environmental progress, RAA created the first and only society-wide standardized labeling system for recycling bins, displaying easy-to-understand images and instructions in a consistent format that helps prevent confusion at the recycling bin.

"With the support of Whole Foods Market and their caring customers, we hope to be able to give free standardized labels for recycling bins to the public K-12 schools in Miami,” said Mitch Hedlund, Recycle Across America Executive Director. “The standardized labels for recycling bins make it easy for students to recycle more and recycle right, and helps the Miami school district save potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in trash hauling fees each school year.”

As a result of misplaced garbage in recycling bins, millions of valuable recyclables are being contaminated. This contamination is costly to remove from the recyclable materials and is harming the profitability of recycling. According to RAA, the leading recycling hauler in the U.S. has shut down 25 percent of their recycling processing plants throughout the country.

"Whole Foods Market Florida region is proud to support Recycle Across America’s movement towards standardized labels for recycling bins,” said Karen Doyle, Regional Green Mission Specialist for Whole Foods Market Florida. “Educating our youth is a vital step towards creating real environmental change for the future and we’re excited that we are able to provide such a valuable tool to our local schools.”

Since April 2016, RAA’s clearly defined standardized labels have been displayed on recycling bins at Whole Foods Market stores throughout Florida. The bins can be found in the stores’ Cafés and seated areas, providing a simple way to educate and improve the public’s recycling habits.

Each quarter, stores host Whole Foods Market’s Five Percent Days in which they donate five percent of their day’s net sales to benefit a local educational or nonprofit organization.

For additional information about Recycle Across America, please visit: http://www.recycleacrossamerica.org/