MOM's Organic Market, the Washington/Baltimore metro area's homegrown organic grocery chain (founded in 1987) is launching another environmental company-wide initiative… Battle the Bottle which will substantially reduce plastic use by eliminating all bottled water.  Battle the Bottle was inspired by the movie "Addicted to Plastic" and addresses the alarming rate by which our oceans are being contaminated by plastic.

"Societies are truly addicted to plastic, much in the way we are addicted to oil.  There are now 5 swirling masses of plastic in our oceans, each roughly the size of Texas.  Plastic NEVER goes away and the problem will only get worse- and the sooner we take action, the better! Not only does plastic damage our environment, but it increases our dependence on oil.  The tragic part of our addiction is that by and large, petroleum-based plastics are not necessary for consumer products and packaging as we have the technology and innovation to use plastic products that biodegrade," said Scott Nash, the founder and CEO of MOM's.

Immediately following the launch, MOM's will begin reducing plastic by:

    * eliminating all bottled water!
    * installing water filtration machines in each store so customers can use reusable containers for water- and offering first gallon free EVERY visit
    * giving employees free counter-top home water filters and reusable water containers
    * eliminating bagged potatoes, onions, oranges, salad mixes (will use biodegradable clamshells instead), and other unnecessarily bagged items from our produce department
    * enabling through our POS system customers to bring in reusable containers for bulk purchases
    * replacing plastic with either bio-plastic or cellophane in our pre-packaged bulk food section, bulk department, bread, bagels, and produce department
    * eliminating petroleum based wax paper in place of biodegradable wax paper for bagels

To reduce plastic, MOM's already:

    * eliminated plastic grocery bags in 2005
    * recycles bottles, bags, shrink-wrap, and plastic containers
    * gives styrofoam packing peanuts to UPS and Mailbox stores
    * uses bio-plastic packaging and utensils
    * factors in packaging when choosing which products to sell
    * applies pressure to manufacturers to use biodegradable plastic or less plastic/styrofoam
    * uses wood coffee stirrers
    * eliminated the use of VCT floor tiles for the most recent 3 store openings (and all future openings)
    * uses bio-plastic for gift certificate cards