Sustainability
Sustainability is relevant to everything we do at The Merc Co+op. From the products we source to the organizations we support to our recycling program, concern for our environment and our community is always top of mind. We partner with nearly three dozen local growers, champion organic, provide a space for community growth in our classrooms, and support farmers’ markets, CSAs and student gardens. See how your co-op is working towards making our planet a healthier place.
Solar Installation & Efficiency Efforts
In August 2018, our co-op completed Lawrence’s largest solar energy project to date. Through a full rooftop array, two solar covered carports and a solar covered patio, our community-owned grocery store worked with Cromwell Solar to install 688 high performance solar panels that provide 29% of our energy each year.
This project allows the co-op to harness the most reliable and sustainable renewable energy resource: the sun. The roof houses the majority of the panels. Comprised of solar panels mounted on steel beams, the two solar covered carports offer 32 spaces with partial protection from the elements and shade from the hot summer sun. An electric vehicle charging station is available for shoppers’ use. And, a solar covered pergola offers partial shade for outdoor diners. All together the panels will produce 297,690 Kilowatt hours energy each year, enough to power 22 homes.
In addition to our solar installation, the Lawrence store has:
installed high efficiency refrigeration in 2019.
transitioned to LED lights
replaced outdated equipment with high efficiency options
reduced its annual energy use by 50% since 2012.
The Kansas City store includes these sustainable practices:
The water cisterns on the corner of the building take rainwater from the roof and store it for landscape irrigation.
The parking lot is made of permeable pavers, which allow rainwater to seep back into the ground.
The store is lit with LED lights, and high efficiency equipment was installed throughout.
Food Recovery and Composting
48,236 pounds of food donated to local food pantries in fiscal year 2023
At the co-op, food that can’t be sold is first offered to people in need through partnerships with local pantries in Lawrence and KCK.
40,561 pounds donated as animal feed to local farmers in fiscal year 2023
What can’t be shared is available to farmers to use as animal feed.
291,525 pounds were composted in fiscal year 2023
What’s left is picked up and composted by Missouri Organic Recycling.
Each spring, we turn around and sell bagged compost from Missouri Organics - some of which is made from our own composted materials!
Recycling & Reducing Single Use Plastics
All of the co-op’s deli and coffee bar packaging is compostable or recyclable.
Our co-op utilizes single stream recycling at both of our locations for all of our materials with Waste Management and Honey Creek Disposal.
Water Refill Stations: Avoid single use plastics by bringing your own clean, refillable containers to the co-op for filtered water.
Plastic shopping bags were discontinued in 2013.
The Merc Co+op partners with Food Cycle KC to offer our shoppers an opportunity to compost their food scraps and more!
Sign up for service at the store, or any one of Food Cycle KC’s swap locations, fill your bucket with food scraps and compostable items. Then bring it back to the store to trade it out for a clean, empty bucket.
Thursdays from 4 – 7 p.m. at the KCK location
Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Lawrence location
Native Plant Pollinator Gardens
Pollinators play an irreplaceable part in food, textile and medicine production. Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small animals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce. They visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off of pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot.
Native plants are adapted to the local climate and soil conditions where they naturally occur. These important plant species provide nectar, pollen, and seeds that serve as food for native butterflies, insects, birds and other animals. Native plants require less water and resources, promote biodiversity, and reduce erosion and air pollution.
A special thanks to our partners, Native Lands LLC, Maggie’s Farm, the Police Athletic League, and Cultivate KC for planning and planting our pollinator gardens in Lawrence and KCK!
Community Supported Agriculture, Farmers Markets & Gardens
Learn more about the CSAs and farmers’ markets that we host on site at our stores as well as the community gardens that we sponsor.
Little Free Libraries
Take a book. Leave a book. Sharing and reusing books is a sustainable path toward knowledge! Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Their mission is to be a catalyst for building community, inspiring readers, and expanding book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Library book-exchange boxes. The Merc Co+op is proud to have started Little Free Libraries at both store locations and is pleased to partner with Altrusa KC to help stock books at the one in KCK.
Awards and Recognition
National Co-op Grocers Co+efficient Sustainability Star: 2016, 2017, 2019
Climate + Energy Project Changemaker Award 2019