When it comes to grocery shopping, the amount of packaging involved can be astounding. There are often layers of plastic and cardboard between you and your food, and while little bags of prepackaged snacks seem enticing or convenient for family lunches, they are huge contributors to one’s carbon footprint. While it is good to see larger stores in Corvallis like Winco, dedicating large sections to bulk, patrons must use plastic bags and wire twist-ties that will inevitably end up in landfills or the ocean. One Corvallis business stands out in their efforts to reduce their overall footprint: The First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op. This Earth Day – April 22 – the Co-Op will be stimulating bulk sales by offering all customers 15 percent off bulk and fresh produce.
The Co-op, as it’s colloquially called, has two locations on the north and south side of town. What makes the Co-op special is that they are rooted in the community and are driven to make Corvallis a better place. “With over 10,000 owners in our community we are catering to many different lifestyles and one of our primary jobs is to educate,” says General Manager Cindee Lolik.
According to Lolik, this includes “educating folks on why purchasing in bulk is better for the planet, but also providing products that are healthy whether packaged or bulk. While the Co-op started with many bulk items, we’ve also always sold packaged items, as not everything our owners wanted was available in bulk. It was and is a shaping factor for us and is one that we strive to maintain.”
While buying in bulk helps reduce waste, it does take extra time and planning, and bringing your own containers can be an intimidating process. “One of the ways we’ve boosted bulk sales is prepackaged bulk that we package on site, which is generally still less packaging than in the grocery aisles,” says Lolik. This gives an alternative to full bulk and makes it more time friendly.
When you use your own containers, not only do you have to tare – or subtract the weight of your container from your total weight – but concerns have been raised over possible contamination. At the Co-op, Lolik and her team follow the Federal Retail Food Code and Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) guidelines. These guidelines regulate how reusable packaging is used and sanitized.
Within the past two years, the ODA has changed its guidelines, making it more difficult to use reusable containers. “Customers are no longer allowed to use their own containers for any temperature-controlled items: anything in the refrigerated bulk case, or anything from the hot and salad bar,” Lolik says. “We used to collect and sanitize used food containers such as glass jars and yogurt tubs – over 40 years with no incident – and put them out for customer use in the bulk department, but we were told we had to discontinue this practice by ODA.”
In general, the Co-op recycles and reuses whatever they can. “If there is an outlet for it, we recycle it,” says Lolik. “We keep our trash bins small and our trash dumpster is much smaller than our conventional competitors.”
One project Lolik expresses excitement for is their partnership with EcNow Tech, a closed-loop recycling program. “This involves taking plastic utensils and washing, sanitizing, and pelletizing them to be made into new items,” she says.
The Co-op, along with the Waste Prevention Action Team of the Sustainability Coalition, is also in the formative stages of providing plastic recycling that Republic Services doesn’t provide. “Small things add up. We try to keep as much as possible out of the landfill whenever and wherever we can,” says Lolik. The Co-Op offers styrofoam recycling to the public for a small fee, and also has bins in their public recycling center at their south store location for wood and metal – along with commingled, glass, and cardboard accepted by Republic Services.
The Co-op started a bag ban more than a decade before the City passed theirs. They reuse boxes for customers’ groceries and have canvas bags on hand for customer purchase. They purchase very few new paper bags and never plastic grocery bags.
This Earth Day, visit the Co-Op and contribute to their mission of educating and reducing local waste.
By Laine Aswad
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