Cut Unnecessary Plastic from Your Diet for Plastic Free July

Ocean Wise and Save-On-Foods team-up to help households take action against plastic pollution

(July 18, 2022 – Langley, B.C.) Save-On-Foods and Ocean Wise are teaming up to celebrate Plastic Free July and take action against plastic pollution with the #PlasticChallenge.

The challenge includes four easy steps:

1. Audit your waste – pull your trash can out to the yard and sort through it, tracking items on the Ocean Wise Plastic Challenge data card
2. Share your findings – submit your data online and tag us social media with the hashtag #PlasticChallenge to tell people what you found, and learn about ways to reduce your waste
3. Reduce your waste – visit ocean.org/reduce_your_waste or follow Ocean Wise social to find easy ways to reduce your waste
4. Check your progress – go back to your trash can and conduct a second audit…find out where your household has improved and where there is still work to do

Year after year Ocean Wise finds plastic waste on our shorelines. In fact, plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris, impacting marine species due to entanglement, ingestion and habitat destruction. Scientists have found microplastics in our drinking water, food and even in our bodies, raising concerns about the impact on human health.

The issue is critical enough that on June 20, 2022 the government of Canada announced its plan to ban six single-use plastic items including checkout bags, cutlery, hard-to-recycle food containers, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws. The plan comes into effect through 2023 and is expected to eliminate over 1.3 million tonnes of hard-to-recycle plastic waste and more than 22,000 tonnes of plastic pollution.

But our ocean does not have to wait for the ban to take effect before every one of us can make a difference. For Plastic Free July Ocean Wise and Save-On-Foods is encouraging Canadians to take the Ocean Wise Plastic Challenge; to learn about plastic waste in their own household and make a plan to reduce that waste. The Ocean Wise Plastic Challenge is easy to do and can be found online at ocean.org/plastic_challenge.

“Our customers raise important questions and bring forward local, provincial, national, and even global opportunities for our company to make a difference. We listen to them and take action,” said Darrell Jones, president, Save-On-Foods.  “It is critical that we all do our part to protect our environment,” added Jones. “The choices we make can play a critical role in what ends up in our ocean. Grocers, like Save-On-Foods, can also play an important role in making it easier than ever to make plastic free choices.”

As part of their commitment to sustaining our resources and reducing pollution Save-On-Foods has offered plastic bag collection bins for over 30 years. Through this recycling program 450 Tonnes of plastic film and plastic bags are kept out of our landfills and waste streams every year. Save-On-Foods was also one of the first Canadian retailers to voluntarily implement a charge to consumers for single-use plastic and paper checkstand bags; reducing the company’s plastic bag use by 38% in the first full year. To date, this has stopped over 250 million plastic bags from ever entering our system and ultimately hitting our landfills.

The company also recently announced its plan to stop printing their paper flyer, reducing an estimated 8 million pounds of flyers from the environment.

Additionally, Save-On-Foods has set its sights on creating the first zero-waste conventional grocery store in Canada by 2025. While this is an ambitious task Save-On-Foods set a similar goal in 2017 to reduce Food Waste by 50%. They achieved that goal six years ahead of schedule.

“The Ocean Wise Plastic Challenge is one of the easiest tools you can use to determine what your household’s plastic footprint is,” said Lasse Gustavsson, President and CEO of Ocean Wise. “It is rewarding to see companies like Save-On-Foods encouraging individuals to take action, but also putting the systems in place to help people make a difference.”

The Ocean Wise Plastic Challenge runs year-round and is the focus of a national social media campaign throughout the month of July. Everyone is invited to take the challenge and join in the conversation about reducing their use of unnecessary plastic. Whether you’re a plastic-free pro or new to plastic reduction, the Ocean Wise Plastic Challenge can help you take the next (or first) step to take action against plastic pollution.

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OCEAN WISE

Ocean Wise is a global conservation organization on a mission to protect and restore the world’s oceans. Focused on education, research and direct-action conservation, Ocean Wise equips and inspires youth, citizens, businesses and governments to take action through initiatives like Shoreline Cleanup, Sustainable Seafood, Seaforestation, the WhaleReport app, and Plastic Reduction. Learn more at ocean.org

Save-On-Foods

Save-On-Foods is a Jim Pattison business, committed to Going the Extra Mile for customers in every community served, every day. Known for its unique approach in customizing each store to best suit the needs of the neighbourhood by carrying more than 2,500 locally made products from more than 2,000 local growers and producers, the company has been innovating and putting customers first for over 100 years. Save-On-Foods, its supplier partners, team members and generous customers have donated more than $40 million to children’s hospitals and contribute $3 million in donations to food banks across Western Canada each year.

Save-On-Foods works to reduce operational waste year over year, to eliminate all possible aspects being sent to landfill and is a proud supporter of several Ocean Wise programs, including Ocean Wise Sustainable Seafood, the Ocean Wise Sea Dome and the Ocean Wise Plastic Challenge. Save-On-Foods is also proud to be a founding signatory partner of the Canada Plastic Pact.

With a strong focus on advancing the circular economy in grocery, Save-On-Foods is testing and integrating a number of programs and approaches that focus on opportunities ranging from food waste to reusable packaging to multi-sectoral partnerships that enable the re-integration of ‘waste materials’ into the value chain.

CONTACTS

Save-On-Foods

Media Relations

(604) 888-2079, extension 2200

[email protected]

OCEAN WISE
Nicholas Schulz, Director of Communications and Engagement | [email protected] | +1 604 659 3752