Kohl’s Reaches a 77 Percent Recycling Rate in 2010

Compiled by the Waste Age staff

 Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Kohl’s Department Stores recycled 77 percent of the waste generated by the company’s operations last year, according to the firm’s 2010 Sustainability Report. The company had set a goal of recycling 85 percent of the waste it generated in 2010. Overall, Kohl’s recycled 151,194 tons of material in 2010, up from 136,874 tons the year before.

According to the report, cardboard and paper accounted for the solid majority — 79 percent — of the retailer’s 2010 recycling tonnage. The second most commonly recycled material was construction debris, which accounted for 11 percent of the recycling tonnage.

“Kohl’s associates and suppliers have long made sustainability — particularly energy efficiency and waste reduction — part of their business practices,” said Ken Bonning, Kohl’s executive vice president of store planning and logistics, in a press release. “Over the last several years, in the midst of the company’s continued growth, we’ve worked to formalize these initiatives and set goals that will truly have a positive, long-term impact for our business and our communities.”

RELATED RESOURCES:

• Kohl's 2010 Sustainability Report

• "Kohl's Department Stores Releases First Corporate Sustainability Report" (press release)