DUBLIN, Calif. — Safeway stores recycle about 85 percent of their solid waste through a series of programs that have diverted hundred of thousands of tons of garbage from landfills.

The company’s 85 percent diversion rate exceeds the 50 percent mandated goal of California, the state in which the retailer is headquartered. All told, the programs have diverted more than 500,000 tons of waste materials, Safeway said in its 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility report published today.

Safeway's solar array at its Dublin, Calif., headquarters

The company touted other accomplishments. It has completed 14 solar energy projects in California, for instance, with another nine underway. It is also bought more than 90 million kilowatt-hours of wind power, which has shrunk its carbon footprint by more than 63,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Other notable tidbits from Safeway’s report:

•   The company set a goal of reducing greenhouse gases 6 percent between 2007 and 2011 as part of its membership in the Chicago Climate Exchange. A recent audit shows it reduced emissions by 11 percent.

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•   A store in Santa Cruz, Calif. being built to LEED standards will include a solar panel array that will deliver a fifth of the store’s energy needs, while a fuel cell will satisfy another 20 percent of the expected energy use. The former brownfield site also will house HVAC refrigeration and fire suppression systems that avoid CFCs, HCFCs and Halon refrigerants.

•   Sales of reusable grocery bags have increased 300 percent between 2007 and 2008. Safeway discontinued selling baby bottles with Bisphenol A last year.

Produce photos CC-licensed by Flickr user Mattieb.