Seward Co-op’s staff-led Green Team “talks trash” about trash! We can all make a difference, so we invite Seward shoppers and community members to help. The Green Team’s focus over the next year is to organize volunteer opportunities in our community, further advocate for packaging changes and offer resources through the “Trash Talk” campaign. We hope to see a decrease in the amount of trash our co-op produces by 1.5 percent, meaning 82 percent would be recycled or composted, compared to 80.5 percent in 2019. The overall impact of reaching this goal will amount to 16,000 pounds less waste going to the incinerator!

Seward Co-op has been committed to positive environmental practices since our founding over 45 years ago and continues to be a steward of low-waste consumerism today. It’s been 10 years since we ditched plastic in our checkout lanes and started composting organics. More than half of our Deli packaging is made from post-consumer recycled plastics. We acknowledge that this packaging is still plastic, however, these plastics can be used again and again at home, and then recycled to become raw material again. Our leadership can also be seen in the use of our rain gardens, solar panels, beehives and bee-friendly rooftop gardens, LEED-certified energy-efficient buildings, nontoxic cleaning liquids produced in house, and our Bulk departments. Despite all these successes, we recognize there is much more work to be done!

Want to help? Here’s how:

• The recyclable plastic numbers in Hennepin County are 1, 2, 4 and 5.

• Black plastic is trash in Hennepin County (even if it’s number 1, 2, 4 or 5).

• Dump your mix recycling into the bins loose—don’t bag it up!

• When in doubt, throw it out! Don’t dump items you wish or hope might be recyclable or compostable in those bins. It can cause a lot more trash as waste workers will toss the whole contaminated batch instead of sorting it.

You can also find more local information by visiting the Hennepin County website at: www.hennepin.us/recycling.

Make an Even Greater Impact at Home

Seward Co-op prioritizes using packaging that has an environmentally positive impact. Here are some tips and recent updates on our in-house packaging practices.

• Rotisserie chickens are no longer packaged in black plastic. Now, the top and bottom is compostable packaging.

• We’re no longer placing labels on compostable Deli cups, because those sticky labels are trash. If you purchase a fresh juice or smoothie, it will come unlabeled.

• Compostable produce bags are available in our produce department. Be aware that they do not function the same as plastic and you may want to transfer items to a reusable container once you are home.

• Compostable butcher paper is available at the Meat & Seafood counter. It does not block moisture as well, so you may want to transfer your purchase into a reusable container when you get home.