Finding Solutions for Plastics and Packaging Waste Challenges

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

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Join a Community that Champions, Connects, and Elevates!

Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

I joke that my entryway has turned into ‘Marjorie’s MRF’ because I have so many piles of material to find a new home for. There are extra paper bags to reuse or recycle, extra plastic bags to return to the stores with collection bins, cooler bags to reuse or donate. And this is before I get to my leftover food packaging.

By: Marjorie DePuy, Senior Director, Supply Chain and Sustainability, FMI <div class="mg-image--circular" style="float: right; margin: 10px;"><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/photos-for-staff-use/plastics/istock-1048321178_web.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=d0ed536e_1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="iStock-1048321178_web" title="iStock-1048321178_web" /></div> Over the past months, I have spent countless hours in the COVID-19 era equivalent of a hunting and gathering role. Hunting for groceries online or in-store through steamed-up glasses, or sometimes through that chuckle-inducing acronym, BOPIS, or ‘buy online, pick up in-store.’ After celebrating my successful outings and tipping my delivery partners, I am then confronted with the realities of packaging in these times. I joke that my entryway has turned into ‘Marjorie’s MRF’ because I have so many piles of material to find a new home for. There are extra paper bags to reuse or recycle, extra plastic bags to return to the stores with collection bins, cooler bags to reuse or donate. And this is before I get to my leftover food packaging. If nothing else, most of us are more attuned than ever to the intersection of convenience, protection and wasteful packaging. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the U.S. used more than <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/09/14/all-my-takeout-has-delivered-a-mountain-of-trash-so-i-asked-experts-how-to-minimize-it/">36 billion disposable utensils a year</a>, and since 79% of all plastic is not recycled, we are headed toward a trajectory of having 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills by 2050 if we don’t change tack, according to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/">National Geographic</a>.   It’s refreshing to be part of an industry that is actively engaged in finding solutions for some of the thorniest plastics and packaging waste challenges out there. FMI’s Sustainability Executive Committee has discussed packaging and plastics waste issues and recently decided to re-activate a Packaging Sustainability Subcommittee so we can create a real home for these topics, since they are only one piece of our larger sustainability challenges. As a reminder, FMI signed on as a founding activator of the <a href="https://usplasticspact.org/take-action/">U.S. Plastics Pact</a> in August of 2020, with a commitment to work toward four big visionary goals: <ul style="list-style-type: disc;"> <li>Define a list of packaging to be designated as problematic or unnecessary by 2021 and take measures to eliminate them by 2025.</li> <li>By 2025, all plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable.</li> <li>By 2025, undertake ambitious actions to effectively recycle or compost 50% of plastic packaging.</li> <li>By 2025, the average recycled content or responsibly sourced bio-based content in plastic packaging will be 30%.</li> </ul> FMI has participated in several organizational meetings and begun working on a roadmap that will guide all stakeholders in the plastics ecosystem toward a more circular future. We have also begun to meet in the Problematic and Unnecessary Plastics Workstream and are evaluating the <a href="https://www.newplasticseconomy.org/projects/global-commitment/">criteria originally outlined in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastic Economy</a> that will be most relevant to the U.S. marketplace going forward. We realize no individual company can reach these goals without the support of industry, government and NGO peers, and, of course, consumers. We are going to see some exciting shifts in our near future, as innovative solutions on the horizon come closer to our front doors. Closed Loop Partners has launched an Innovation Challenge called <a href="https://www.openideo.com/challenge-briefs/beyond-the-bag-challenge">Beyond the Bag</a> to identify a range of solutions to the single use grocery bag. Challenge winners will be announced in coming weeks. The EMF also has a new <a href="https://plastics.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/upstream">Upstream Innovation Guide to Packaging Solutions</a>. To bring some practical packaging solutions to a broader FMI universe, FMI is also spinning up a team to scope work on an FMI Sustainable Packaging Playbook as well as a Plastic Footprint Resource. We are also supporting the ECRM Sustainable & Eco-friendly Packaging Program <a href="https://leads.marketgate.com/ecrm-sustainable-packaging-buyers/">March 23-25 </a><a href="https://leads.marketgate.com/ecrm-sustainable-packaging-buyers/">– free to retailers</a>. To learn more about any of these efforts or to get involved, please contact <a href="mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">Marjorie DePuy</a>.

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Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.