Industry News - PM

Cargill meat plant becomes company's first verified landfill-free facility


By Rita Jane Gabbett on 4/13/2015

Cargill announced its meat processing facility in Hazleton, Pa., has completely eliminated all landfill waste.

The 225,000-square-foot plant that sits on a 40-acre site, employs 600 people and produces more than 10 million pounds of beef, pork and ground meat products monthly.

Ann Arbor, Michigan-based NSF International verified the facility's landfill-free status after a detailed review of documentation and a three-day on-site audit, March 10-12, 2015.

Although some materials were already being recycled, in 2012 Cargill's Hazleton plant sent 1,500 tons of waste to local landfills, including plastic, bio-solids, paper and other materials. In mid-2013, employees at the facility began a stepped-up recycling effort and within five months reduced the amount of waste materials going to landfills by 280 tons, while saving the company $30,000.

In May 2014, the plant sourced partners to recycle plastic, bio-solids and other materials. Approximately 1,000 tons of unrecyclable plastic is used to produce energy and about 1,500 tons of food waste is rendered into other products. More than a ton of oil is repurposed for use as lubricants.

By early 2015, the Hazleton facility had found non-landfill homes for all of its waste, making it the first Cargill facility in the world to achieve verified landfill-free status.  As an ongoing requirement for verification, the Hazleton facility will undergo annual reassessment audits.

The Cargill employees at Hazleton will celebrate the plant's landfill-free status on Earth Day, April 22.


 
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