Guilt-free grocery delivery - it's better for the environment!

SEATTLE -- Those looking to go green might want to pick up their phone and call their local grocery store.

Engineers at the University of Washington found that using a grocery delivery service can cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least half when compared to individual household trips to the store in a personal vehicle. According to the recent study, trucks filled to capacity can deliver to customers clustered in neighborhoods in a more efficient fashion than individual trips to the store. The study found that service trucks produced 20 to 75 percent less carbon dioxide than personal vehicles.

"A lot of times people think they have to inconvenience themselves to be greener," said UW Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Anne Goodchild. "From an environmental perspective, grocery delivery services overwhelmingly can provide emissions reductions."

Around the Seattle area, users can order AmazonFresh and select Safeway stores. Guniusdelivery is also a recently launched grocer service from a UW alumni.

Companies could further reduce carbon emissions by making sure delivery routes were clustered together, the study found. The research was funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation and published in the Journal of the Transportation Research Forum.

For more on the study, click here.