AUGUSTA — Hannaford is being recognized by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for its voluntary efforts to reduce the environmental impact of nine of the company’s supermarkets in central and western Maine.

This month, stores in Farmington, Gardiner, Jay, Madison, Rumford, Skowhegan, Waterville (Elm City Plaza), Waterville (JFK Plaza) and Winthrop were certified by the department as Environmental Leaders. They joined two already certified stores in Augusta and one in South Portland to make the company the leading green grocer in Maine with 12 of the state’s 23 certified stores.

Their common green practices include selling a percentage of locally grown and produced food items that are highlighted with “Close to Home” signage and Gulf of Maine Research Institute verified sustainable seafood; using energy-efficient store lighting, water conserving fixtures in restrooms, heat recovery from refrigeration systems and environmentally preferable cleaning products; donating food to local food banks or pantries; recycling paper, cardboard and plastic waste as well as composting of organic waste; and the adoption of a written stormwater management policy for parking lots.

The certified stores also maintain environmental information that educates customers and staff on the company’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact and have an environmental team of staff at each store that meets at least quarterly.

As an example, the typical Hannaford store keeps 61 percent of its waste from going to a landfill — compared to around 45 percent for the industry. Hannaford stores participating in DEP’s Environmental Leader program averaged 78.7 percent.

Hannaford Supermarkets, based in Scarborough, operates 179 stores and employs more than 27,000 associates in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.