Subway Recognizes Three Vendors for Sustainability Efforts

The Subway restaurant chain has presented Sustainability awards to three of its vendors at the restaurant company’s annual convention. The companies recognized by Subway are: Pactiv's PWP Industries, Vernon, Calif.; Matosantos Commercial Corp., Vega Bajam, Puerto Rico; and Closed Loop Recycling, Smithfield, Australia.

Matosantos, a food distributor, created a facility that features water recovery and treatment programs. In addition, its newest building has a reflective roof design, which reduces temperatures inside by as much as 15-percent.
Closed Loop undertook a recycling initiative in Australia which resulted in 130,000 tons of materials removed from the waste stream to be later recycled and remanufactured.

Pactiv's PWP Industries created a salad bowl and lid, used by Subway at 23,400 locations, which used PET plastics made from a minimum of 25 percent post-consumer recycled content, primarily derived from recycled Coca-Cola brand soda and water bottles.

In addition, PWP Industries redesigned the bowls to use less plastic material.

PWP produced the recycled PET plastics at its facility in West Virginia, which the plastics packaging firm opened last year.

While acknowledging the efforts of its three cited vendors, Subway also notes that it has taken other strides in boosting its environmental efforts. Some of the steps include the following:

• Napkins made with 100 percent recycled fiber with up to 49 percent post consumer content;
• Towel and tissue products made with 100 percent recycled material and up to 75 percent post consumer content;
• 78 percent of paper packaging containing recycled content;
• Plants and distribution centers strategically located to significantly reduce transportation costs, fuel use and carbon emissions; and
• Eight certified eco-stores.