The use of reverse logistics for waste management in a Brazilian grocery retailer

Abstract

Retail growth is a result of the diversification of departments with the intention to look to consumer's needs and level of demand. Pressed by consumers and by the law, the adoption of environmental preservation practices is becoming stronger among grocery retailers. The objective of this research was to analyse the practices of reverse logistics performed by a retailer and measure the amount of waste generated by each department. To reach the proposed goal, a field research study was conducted to directly observe a grocery retailer in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for a period of 6 months and monitor the amounts of cardboard and plastic discarded by each department. Using the Wuppertal method, the first result observed was that the retailer stopped its monthly production of approximately 20 tonne of biotic and abiotic material, which influence global warming and degradation of the ozone layer. Another result observed with the implementation of reverse logistics, was that the general grocery department mostly used cardboard and plastic. This sector includes products such as food cupboard, drinks, household, health and beauty, and pet articles. The fresh fruit and vegetable department and the meat, chicken and frozen department were increasingly using less plastic and cardboard packaging, increasing the use of returnable and durable packaging and thus promoting sustainability.

Environmental Orientation in Swedish Local Governments

“…Five common elements are affected by the introduction and use of NPM [8,52,53,57]: Firstly, governance and control-including retention and performance management, financial management with a tighter financial control and quality assurance systems. As a consequence, efficiency measures and quality are given more focus.…”

“…We draw from a strand of research called new public management (NPM), which show changes in how public organizations plan, operate, control and report their operations [8,33,[48][49][50][51][52][53][54]. In essence, public organizations have become more like private sector organizations in how they run their operations.…”

“…Signs of higher degrees of environmental concern, through reduced environmental impact, can be found in different sources (i.e., [5][6][7][8]). As a major economic player, the public sector (i.e., local government) faces increased expectations and responsibilities to reduce their environmental impact, and to influence other organizations to become more environmentally sustainable [9,10].…”

Impacts of the “Plastic Bag Law” in the Grocery Retail in the city of São Paulo/Brazil

“…SOLID WASTE FROM RETAIL: PLASTIC BAG Supermarkets produce various types of solid waste such as: plastic, cardboard, pallet, organic waste and others, which come from the primary packaging of the products and their operational activities in general (Dias & Braga Junior, 2016). Particularly in the case of plastic bags, although it is not a waste directly generated by retail, they are passed on to consumers at the time of purchase and are subsequently destined for landfills with other types of household waste (Régis et al 2015).…”

“…In this sense, the sector is assuming new responsibilities towards the final consumer, committing itself to the reduction of waste generated, as well as to the recycling and reuse of waste (Braga Junior & Rizzo, 2014). Among the residues produced by supermarkets, there are plastic, cardboard, pallet, organic waste and others, which come from the primary packaging of the products and the operational activities in general (Dias & Braga Junior, 2016). In particular, plastic bags, although not directly produced by retail, are passed on to consumers at the time of purchase, which are then destined for landfills with other types of household waste (RÉGIS et al , 2015).…”