If you are looking to make purchases that are more environmentally friendly, look no further than local supermarket shelves.
Grocery stores have recently been increasing their number of “green” products to meet requests of customers.
“Green is big,” said Rich Schlickbernd, manager of SuperSaver.
At his store, they have a green detergent section added earlier this year. The aisle has a wide range of cleaning products. They also have a selection of organic foods, and have recently started selling cloth bags.
“It’s all been real popular. The sale of cloth bags has been real popular,” Schlickbernd said.
At Joe and Al’s, owner Steve Dolezal said they also sell cloth bags at his store. But for customers who still use plastic bags, they are adding an on-site recycling bin.
Cloth bags save money for the business in the long run because the more plastic bags that are used, the more they have to buy. But a cloth bag can be used over and over again.
“It will save the environment and save in cost savings right now,” Dolezal said.
Like SuperSaver and HyVee, Joe and Al’s also has organic foods.
“We have organic pastas, organic salsa, items like that spread throughout the store,” Dolezal said. He said there is a national wave of supermarkets going green and it is just beginning in the Midwest. “The east and west coast do things first and then it filters to the center.”
Measures are also being taken in the day to day operation of the business to save on energy. Dolezal said they have used for the past 12 years a heating reclaiming system to heat the building during the winter months. The system takes hot gas from the refrigeration system and uses it to heat the store.
Hy-Vee stores have offered green products for several years, said Mike Smith, director of real estate and sustainability at the corporate office in West Des Moines, Iowa.
What is offered varies from store to store, Smith said, but common products include concentrated detergents, environmentally friendly cleaners and items made of recyclables.
But offering products isn’t the only way the chain is working toward going green. Reducing waste and increasing recycling are priorities. New and remodeled stores also have been created in environmentally responsible ways including high efficiency lighting, windows that allow heat in during the winter and keep it out in the summer, and use of high efficiently heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
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