Commissaries to collect, recycle plastic bags

  • Published
  • By Jessica Rouse
  • Defense Commissary Agency
FORT LEE, Virginia --  Stateside commissary customers will soon have an easy way to recycle plastic bags: Just bring them on their next trip to the commissary and use the new recycle bins.

All stateside commissaries now have plastic bag recycling bins that customers can use to recycle any plastic bag, not just commissary bags. Overseas commissaries are not participating in the program because the agency does not issue recycling contracts overseas.

"We are an environmentally conscious agency, and this is another step in the right direction as we seek new and innovative ways to become 'greener,'" said Joseph H. Jeu, Defense Commissary Agency director and CEO.

So what happens to those bags? They will be combined with other plastic waste from the commissaries and shipped to recycling centers for processing.

"Last year we recycled almost 3 million pounds of plastic in commissaries," said Randy Eller, DeCA's environmental and planning division chief. "With this service to our customers, we will recycle even more plastic, keeping it out of landfills."

Commissaries already recycle a lot of waste generated by store operations. In fiscal year 2013, the agency recycled more than 139 million pounds of cardboard, plastic and paper. It has also diverted almost 13 million pounds of food waste, metal and wood from the waste stream, along with the recycling of 1 million pounds of organic waste. Two commissaries are testing dehydrators that reduce the weight of the organic waste by 85 percent and produce compost. The agency's goal is to recycle 80 percent of all recyclable material generated in stores worldwide by the end of fiscal year 2014.

"More and more of our customers are adopting green lifestyles, and they want the retailers they use to do likewise," said Jeu. "That's what DeCA is working toward; whether it's through recycling or offering our customers earth friendly products, we are doing our part to protect our environment."