Across work and play, everyone benefits from a thriving natural environment. Meijer is committed to supporting organizations that strive to protect clean water and land for the communities we serve. Since 2022, our company has donated more than $2 million to the charitable arm of the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) in the United States. Through this partnership, our donations have been used to purchase and operate cutting-edge devices to clean up the Great Lakes: The BeBot and the Pixie Drone.
These innovative robotic devices collect litter from beaches and waterways. The program has been a success, collecting thousands of pieces of litter each year across 40 locations, and bringing awareness to the issue of Great Lakes plastic pollution as part of CGLR’s broader Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup.
Meijer team members also engage hands-on with coastal cleanup efforts. We partner with the Alliance for the Great Lakes to host team member and community volunteer beach cleanups across our footprint.
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As a Michigan-based company, we have a special appreciation for freshwater, especially the Great Lakes. The rainwater that falls on our properties eventually makes its way to the Great Lakes through streams, rivers and groundwater, so we consider it our responsibility to keep that water clean.
Green infrastructure is one of the best tools we use to manage rainwater on our sites. Green infrastructure uses soil, vegetation, and other elements to filter, treat, move and manage stormwater. It can also reduce the risk of erosion and flooding. For new stores, we evaluate the site for green infrastructure potential and implement when we can. We have also been working to retrofit older sites with green infrastructure when we replace parking lots.
Check out one of our recent projects in Grand Rapids, Mich. in partnership with Plaster Creek Stewards (PCS) to help ensure sustainable stormwater management solutions around our supercenter at 28th Street and Kalamazoo Ave.
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The Bubble Barrier is a new initiative focused on removing plastics in inland waterways prior to entering the Great Lakes. The Bubble Barrier system, which has been successfully deployed in Europe, uses a perforated tube on the river bottom to create a bubble curtain, pushing plastic toward the shore for removal. In partnership with the City of Lansing, Meijer is aiming to test this technology in the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has also engaged Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University to study the Bubble Barrier.
A feasibility study has been completed, and Meijer is seeking partners to bring this project to life. Learn more about this project below:
