StopWaste was an early funder of the Alameda County Food Bank Grocery Rescue Program through their grants program. The Grocery Rescue Program (GRP) partners with local grocery stores and retailers to recover a variety of foods for neighborhood food pantries and meal programs.
Replacing disposable cups, plates, utensils and other food service items with reusables reduces cost, saves resources and prevents litter. Watch how Alameda County food businesses have made the switch, with help from StopWaste’s nonprofit partner Rethink Disposable.
For a limited time StopWaste is offering up to $2,500* and free, hands-on technical support to set you up with reusable foodware. Learn more.
The Casitas Alameda Homeowners Association, a community of more than 400 homes, used sheet mulch to replace a large swath of lawn with colorful, climate-appropriate plants. The new landscape is expected to use two-thirds less water than the lawn.
The City of Hayward's Route 238 Capital Improvement Project is the biggest Bay-Friendly Rated Landscape to date. This project, which includes nearly seven acres of irrigated medians and other landscaping, was designed to save more than two million gallons of water annually. Download the two-page case study to learn more.
Read about the City of Alameda Housing Authority's renovation of the landscaping at Independence Plaza, a 186-unit affordable housing complex for seniors. Labor- and water-intensive turf and lagoons were replaced with a no-mow landscape featuring California native plants. The changes are saving 1.3 million gallons of water and reducing maintenance costs by $12,000 annually.
“ReThink Disposable has been a huge success for Doc’s of the Bay. The recommendations are working fabulously and we’re seeing benefits well beyond the $2,000 annual savings. The food looks better than it ever has and customer response has been really positive.” Brandon Smuke, Truck Manager of Doc’s of the Bay Food Truck, Emeryville.
Learn how the City of Pleasanton used sheet mulch to convert a lawn along Main Street to a Bay-Friendly landscape that is saving as much as 384,000 gallons of water annually. Sheet mulching the lawn instead of excavating it kept 16.5 tons of turf out of the landfill. The new no-mow landscape looks great, costs less to maintain, and provides bird and pollinator habitat and other benefits.
The United States Postal Service’s massive Oakland Processing and Distribution Center uses reusable containers to prevent waste and recycles undeliverable mail, paper, cardboard, bottles, cans, plastic film, pallets, and other materials, saving $200,000 per year.
StopWaste commissioned this independent field test to determine the feasibility of using reusable plastic containers for shipping and displaying produce in grocery stores. The case study presents lessons learned during the 19-week test conducted at two Andronico's supermarkets and two Food Maxx wholesale grocery outlets. An executive summary of the field test is also available.
Learn how the Harbor Bay Median relandscaping project in Alameda used sheet mulch to replace 2.5 acres of conventional grass medians with a Bay-Friendly landscape that enhances the spectacular shoreline setting. Sheet mulching the median turf instead of excavating it kept 221 tons of turf out of the landfill.The new landscape has saved more than 9 million gallons of water in three years.
