Whole Story

Does your local recycling take those #5 plastics? Not many do. What to do with all of those containers from yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, hummus and other plastic food storage with the dreaded #5 on the bottom? Never fear, the Preserve Gimme 5 program is here to help! Since we announced the Gimme 5 pilot program in Whole Story a little over a year ago, 45,000 pounds of plastic (that’s about 2.9 million yogurt cups) have been recycled into Preserve brand toothbrushes, razors, tableware, cutting boards, strainers and lots of other cool, stylish kitchen ware. This year, the program expects to collect three to four times that volume of #5 plastic thanks to an expanded number of Gimme 5 drop-off locations at Whole Foods Market stores across the nation – now available in over 225 of our U.S. stores. Find the complete list of Gimme 5 locations here. Preserve, the leading producer of 100% recycled household products, put together a stellar group to make this program come together: natural personal care leader Tom’s of Maine, organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, water filtering company Brita and its FilterForGood campaign and, of course, Whole Foods Market. This partnership reflects the five companies’ shared commitment to protecting the environment. It also empowers consumers with a simple and effective recycling program that cuts down on the use of virgin materials in products. Tom’s of Maine deodorant packaging, Stonyfield yogurt containers, used Brita water pitcher filters (see Preserve website for info on recycling the Brita filters) and a number of other products made from #5 plastic, including dairy and take-out containers, are transformed into performance-driven, stylish and 100% recycled Preserve household products. These Preserve products are sold in our stores, which is extra cool because you can bring in old stuff to be recycled and pick up new stuff made from the old stuff. Gimme 5 makes it easier for people to do the right thing. We’re pleased to be a part of this great program. Gimme 5 fits perfectly into our mission of caring about our communities and the environment. We welcome this partnership and thank our shoppers and Team Members for such a successful year of recycling. If you don’t live near one of the current collection sites or if your Whole Foods Market store doesn’t yet offer Gimme 5 recycling, you can mail your #5 plastics to Preserve. Post a comment below to let us know how the recycling process is working for you!