Larry's Market

Locally and family owned since 1945, Larry's Markets was founded in Seattle, is one of the Northwest's premier grocery and retail operations. Larry's Markets provides its customers' everyday grocery needs, and features fresh meats and produce from local growers, regional and international wine selections, and environmentally-friendly foods and household products. It believes in community involvement as a natural extension of the company's civic responsibility and encourages volunteerism from its more than 800 employees at six neighborhood locations. Its standard of excellence for the entire store, and particularly the fresh departments, continues to maintain its leadership position in the grocery industry, until it’s closing in 2006.

In 1991, the head of the Environmental Affairs Program at this Seattle-based grocery chain performed an audit and found organics to be the largest part by volume of its waste stream. The audit showed that around 3000 tons of byproducts, such as garbage and food waste, were produced during the year by the company’s five stores. Of the 3000 tons, over 700 tons were compostable, mainly from the stores produce and floral departments.

In order to reduce costs and expand its efforts towards total environmental responsibility, they came up with a project to gather all of the produce and floral department byproducts for composting. As part of Larry’s Markets’ waste reduction efforts, a project team including management from all five stores worked to create a food recovery program that would fit into employee daily activities. Recycling, including composting is now part of every employee’s job description.

The project was part of the company's comprehensive environmental program that included; recycling, waste reduction, energy conservation, water management, environmental landscaping, environmental product evaluation, community project support, and more.

Once the composting began in 1992, 350 tons were composted and 1250 tons of garbage were produced, and the following year showed a significant increase in