Recycling Options
Whole Foods Market St. Paul is pleased to offer a number of recycling options, including some not accepted by most curbside pickup providers.
Please note that ALL items brought for recycling should be completely removed of food waste, dry and sorted by the catagories below. No medical waste, please!
Gimme 5 – #5 Plastic Recycling
The Preserve Gimme 5 program gives shoppers a convenient drop-off location for #5 plastic containers which are often not accepted at municipal recycling centers. The program, created by Preserve, and offered through a partnership with Whole Foods Market, Stonyfield Farm and Organic Valley is now available at Whole Foods Market St. Paul.
Common #5 plastics including packaging for yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, margarine and hummus containers, some ice cream containers, and food storage and take-out containers. The number 5 should be plainly marked on the bottom of the container. Additionally, the Preserve Gimme 5 program accepts Brita water pitcher filters for recycling. Feel free to drop your RINSED and dried #5 plastics in the specially marked Gimme 5 bin in the café area of our store (no medical waste, please).
Cork Recycling
Are you a wine lover wondering what to do with all those corks you have left over? Recycle them in our Cork ReHarvest box in our café area. Cork is a natural, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable material that is obtained through an environmentally friendly harvesting process. The goal for the collection and shipping of these corks is to do so with as close to a zero increase in CO2 as possible. Doing so ensures the greatest ecological benefit, and they will be utilized in the wine industry and consumer products. With our partners and your help, we can have a significant impact in saving the cork forests and reusing this remarkable natural resource. Recycling provided by Willamette Valley Vineyards, Rainforest Alliance and Whole Foods Market.
Additional Recycling
We also accept plastic bags in a bin outside the store, and a combined bin for rigid plastics #1-4 & #7, paper/paperboard, metal & glass. A collection bin for clothing and household items is also available in our parking lot.
