Reducing Waste

DeCA stores set record for paper, plastic, cardboard recycling

FORT LEE, Va. (Jan. 7, 2016) – The numbers are in: Military commissaries surpassed their fiscal 2015 environmental goals for recycling and diverting waste from landfills.

The Defense Commissary Agency achieved an 83 percent recycling efficiency rate, the highest in the agency's history, said Randy Eller, deputy director of DeCA's logistics directorate. Along the way, DeCA recycled more than 60,000 tons of cardboard, 1,900 tons of plastic, and more than 108 tons of paper.

"Our commitment to environmental goals is reflected in the rapid increase in the recycling numbers year after year," Eller said. "Due to the outstanding efforts of our store personnel worldwide, our recycling efficiency rates have risen each year – from 75 percent in 2012 to 2015's 83 percent. That's a job well done!"

Adding to the agency's environmental successes for 2015 were the stores which actually reached the "net zero" landmark. Net zero waste is a "whole systems" effort, and changes the way materials flow through an organization, ideally resulting in no waste.

Seven stores achieved net zero status through organic contracts which turn all organic material into compost. The stores include four commissaries in Hawaii – Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air Force Base and Schofield Barracks – plus the stores at McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis in Washington, and Los Angeles Air Force Base in California.

Finally, the continued expansion of DeCA's food bank program is paying both environmental and local community dividends. In 2015, the agency's program to donate edible but unsellable food climbed from 110 to 134 commissaries partnered with 117 U.S. food banks, up from 77 banks in 2014.

"Our food bank program resulted in just under 2.4 million pounds of food diverted from ending up in landfills and being used to feed the hungry," said Eller.

Commissaries with food bank partnerships by state:

• Alabama: Gunter Annex, Maxwell Air Force Base, Fort Rucker
• Alaska: Anchorage Area, Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Greely, Fort Wainwright, U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak
• Arizona: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Fort Huachuca, Luke Air Force Base
• Arkansas: Little Rock Air Force Base
• California: Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Edwards Air Force Base, Fort Irwin, March Air Reserve Base, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center Bridgeport, Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach, Naval Air Station Lemoore, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Naval Air Station North Island, Ord Community, Naval Base San Diego, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Vandenberg Air Force Base
• Colorado: Air Force Academy, Buckley Air Force Base, Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base
• Delaware: Dover Air Force Base
• District of Columbia: Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling
• Florida: Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, Naval Air Station Key West, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, MacDill Air Force Base, Naval Station Mayport, Patrick Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Tyndall Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Whiting Field
• Georgia: Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, Hunter Army Air Field, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Moody Air Force Base, Robins Air Force Base, Fort Stewart
• Hawaii: Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (both commissaries), Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Schofield Barracks
• Illinois: Naval Station Great Lakes
• Indiana: Harrison Village
• Kansas: Fort Leavenworth, McConnell Air Force Base, Fort Riley
• Kentucky: Fort Campbell, Fort Knox
• Louisiana: Barksdale Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Fort Polk
• Maine: Bangor Army National Guard Base
• Maryland: Aberdeen Proving Ground, Andrews Air Force Base, Fort Detrick, Fort Meade
• Michigan: Selfridge Army National Guard Base
• Mississippi: Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Keesler Air Force Base
• Missouri: Richards-Gebaur, Fort Leonard Wood
• Montana: Malmstrom Air Force Base
• Nebraska: Offutt Air Force Base
• Nevada: Nellis Air Force Base
• New Jersey: Lakehurst and McGuire commissaries at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
• New Mexico: Cannon Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base, Kirtland Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range
• New York: Fort Drum, West Point U.S. Military Academy
• North Carolina: Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Fort Bragg (both commissaries), Marine Corps Air Station New River, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
• North Dakota: Grand Forks Air Force Base
• Ohio: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
• Oklahoma: Altus Air Force Base, Fort Sill, Tinker Air Force Base, Vance Air Force Base
• Pennsylvania: Carlisle Barracks, Pittsburgh Area, Tobyhanna Army Depot
• Rhode Island: Naval Station Newport
• South Carolina: Charleston Air Force Base, Naval Weapons Station Charleston, Fort Jackson, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Shaw Air Force Base
• South Dakota: Ellsworth Air Force Base
• Texas: Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Dyess Air Force Base, Fort Hood (both commissaries), Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Lackland Air Force Base, Laughlin Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, Fort Sam Houston, Sheppard Air Force Base
• Virginia: Fort Belvoir, Joint Base Langley-Eustis (both commissaries), Fort Lee, Fort Myer commissary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Naval Air Station Oceana, Marine Corps Base Quantico
• Washington: Naval Base Bangor, Fairchild Air Force Base, Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (both commissaries), Smokey Point Naval Supply Complex, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
• Wisconsin: Fort McCoy
• Wyoming: F.E. Warren Air Force Base

About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit and make no profit on the sale of merchandise. Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. By shopping regularly in the commissary, patrons save thousands of dollars annually. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America's military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.

Media Contact:
Kevin L. Robinson
(804) 734-8000, Ext. 4-8773
kevin.robinson@deca.mil