The Kroger Co. is heralding a pair of developments in its efforts to advance sustainability.
The Cincinnati-based grocer says its recycling program has now processed more than 1 million pieces of its Our Brands flexible plastic product packaging. While celebrating the accomplishment, the company also announced it is offering more items with upcycled ingredients with the addition of two new Simple Truth products, according to a news release.
"We are continually looking for creative and innovative solutions to support our vision of creating zero-waste communities," said Juan De Paoli, vice president of Our Brands for Kroger, said in the release. "Our customers sharing in that commitment by recycling packaging and purchasing products made with upcycled ingredients, alongside our efforts to advance sustainability, makes important progress toward eliminating waste and creating healthy, thriving communities."
The recycling program provides customers with free prepaid shipping labels to mail in flexible plastic Our Brands packaging for recycling. The recycled materials are used to build playgrounds donated by Kroger to youth and community organizations, the company said.
Kroger, in collaboration with TerraCycle, has recycled more than 1 million pieces of packaging since the program began in 2020, according to the release. The list of eligible products can be viewed at Kroger.com, and customers may sign up through the TerraCycle website.
The retailer said it is also working toward its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste mission by expanding its product selection containing upcycled ingredients with the addition of Seeded Multigrain Bread and Multigrain Quinoa Bread to the Simple Truth sustainable lineup. Both are Upcycled Certified by the Upcycled Food Association, according to the release.
The designed-from-scratch bread is blended with upcycled barley, wheat and rye grains, with each variety topped with ingredients like sunflower, flax, black sesame, pumpkin seeds and quinoa. Kroger said Simple Truth offers customers more than 1,500 items that are free from unwanted ingredients, including more than 101 artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and sweeteners.
The Upcycled Food Association, which Kroger joined in 2022, is a trade association working to prevent food waste by accelerating the upcycled food economy. It is a network of more than 225 businesses from around the world collaborating to empower consumers to prevent food waste with the products they purchase, according to the release.