Can a factory produce no garbage? Nestlé USA announced on Wednesday that its 23 factories are all "landfill-free." They contribute zero waste to be used for disposal.
The multinational company is based in Switzerland. It manufactures a wide variety of products, including dairy, ice cream, beverages, and baking ingredients.
Paul Grimwood, CEO of Nestlé USA, says that his company is "incredibly proud" of the effort used to achieve its goal of landfill-free factories. The achievement is quite amazing because of the size and "complexity" of the company's manufacturing operations, according to Manufacturing Global.
Nestlé uses several types of waste-reduction methods. They include recycling, composting, animal feed production, and energy production.
Employees also participate in recycling programs and take actions to minimize waste products. The company also has deals with waste vendors that meet Nestlé's standards and guidelines regarding environmental sustainability when they dispose of waste products.
All of the factories owned by Nestlé USA implement environmental management systems that are International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 certified, according to Environmental Leader. This helps the company to manage its impact on the environment, including its elimination of waste.
Nestlé USA is innovative in its waste-management system. It is always searching for new ways of reusing, recycling, and recovering energy when disposing of waste products from manufacturing.
Grimwood says that the company does not just want its products to be more delicious and healthier. It also wants them to be "better" for the environment.
Globally Nestlé is working towards improving its operations' resource efficiency. A total of 15 percent of the company's global factories had zero waste for disposal during 2014, which is ahead of its goal of 15 percent during 2015.