RICHMOND, Va.–  TemperPack, a leader in sustainable packaging, and Albertsons Cos. are teaming up to divert tens of thousands of pounds of waste from the landfill every year.

The grocer announced Tuesday that it is swapping out traditional Styrofoam coolers in its pharmacy shipments in favor of TemperPack’s paper-based insulator, ClimaCell. ClimaCell represents a significant breakthrough in packaging technology, allowing companies to protect temperature-sensitive shipments for up to 80 hours while significantly reducing packaging waste.

Albertsons Cos., one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, will begin shipping the new packaging to nearly 50,000 specialty care patients, physician offices, and clients in late February, with a full rollout expected over the next year. By switching to a product that customers can conveniently recycle at the curb with the rest of their household’s paper goods, Albertsons Cos. expects to divert up to 75,000 pounds of packaging from the landfill every year.

“We are thrilled to partner with Albertsons Cos. pharmacies to assist in reducing the environmental impact of their packaging,” said Rob Hazelton, senior vice president of sales, TemperPack. “As one of the most highly respected industry and consumer brands, Albertsons Cos.’ move to ClimaCell leads the way for other pharmacy and life science companies to switch without sacrificing the efficacy of their temperature-sensitive products.”

Albertsons Cos. pharmacies made the switch to ClimaCell as part of their overall mission to make their operations more efficient and reduce the environmental footprint of their business.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be the first retailer to make the move from Styrofoam to ClimaCell,” said Erin Shaal, director of Albertsons Cos. specialty care. “We are proud to have a 100% curb-side recyclable product in our packaging portfolio and know it will benefit our customers and our planet.”