Coles to trial zero waste to landfill store

Coles is on a mission to become Australia’s most sustainable supermarket, with the company pledging to divert 90% of waste from landfill by 2022. Moving towards this goal, Wentworth Point Coles in Sydney’s west will trial zero waste to landfill, which will involve changes to in-store processes, source separation and partnerships with facilities that will use waste as a resource.

The changes will mean more packaged and unpackaged food, cardboard, plastic, metal, glass, wax boxes, polystyrene and timber will be diverted from landfill.

Coles Chief Property and Export Officer Thinus Keeve said the trial of a zero waste to landfill store will help Coles find new ways to reduce waste in stores.

“We are now the first Australian supermarket to attempt a zero waste to landfill store,” he said.

“Coles is passionate about driving generational sustainability with innovation that reduces environmental impact. Waste management is a key component of the sustainability of any business and reducing waste is a very important issue for our customers,” Thinus said.

The trial store will investigate ways to recover residual dry waste such as mixed plastic and timber. Coles is partnering with Cleanaway to recover energy from this waste through the Cleanaway ResourceCo Recovery Facility in Wetherill Park. The facility uses dry waste to produce Process Engineered Fuel (PEF), which is then used to offset the demands of heavy industry for fossil fuels.

Cleanaway’s Alex Hatherley said, “This is a great solution for Coles stores that produce high volumes of mixed back-of-house plastics but want to achieve a zero waste to landfill goal.

“Our facility is unique in its ability to divert commercial dry waste from landfill, recover recyclable materials and then convert the remaining combustibles to a sustainable fuel source: PEF,” Hatherley explained.

Image caption: Coles Wentworth Point team members trialling zero waste to landfill.