PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 66

"It's exciting to
see the momentum
around the reduction
of waste not only
within Nestlé and
Purina, but at other
companies in a
variety of industries
and by consumers in
their homes as well."

OPERATIONS

Gopi Sandhu, Nestlé Purina North America

Part of Purina's zero
waste program is to
work with local municipalities to develop
mutually beneficial
ways of recycling or
extracting more value
from spent materials.
Nestlé Purina

engineering at Purina's Clinton factory. "From there, we
did a lot of research and took a phased approach to identify solutions for each waste stream, in every area of the
factory. Associates who were motivated to make a difference have really driven our journey."
Focusing on one area at a time, Purina made strides
toward its goal. "In Clinton, we implemented a phased
approach, beginning with the factory floor where we do
packaging, processing and ingredient unloading, and it
became part of everyone's responsibility to find solutions
and ensure we remained compliant. Once we celebrated
that initial win, we expanded to other areas of the factory," Vander Bleek says.
Although zero waste for disposal is a global commitment, Purina finds success by taking a very local approach. "Partnerships and resources vary and depend
on the location," Sandhu says. "We identify composters and recyclers in or around the communities where
we're operating who share similar values when it comes
to the environment, and we look for resources as close
to our facilities as possible, as we consider the environmental footprint and overall efficiency of this initiative.
Partnerships include local municipalities, composting
facilities and material recyclers of metals, cardboard, paper and plastic. We regularly validate our partners' ability to meet our requirements and to promote their own
compliance with applicable laws."
Other processors are working locally at the consumer level to provide waste solutions. In addition to
having a program in place that diverts food waste from
production away from landfills, WellPet, Tewksbury,
Massachusetts, was the first US-based pet food manufacturer to partner with Trenton, New Jersey-based
TerraCycle in 2015 and offer a program to recycle

PET FOOD PROCESSING | March 2019 | www.petfoodprocessing.net

post-consumer packaging materials. At the end of 2018,
WellPet announced that it had recycled 100,000 bags
from its pet food through the TerraCycle program.
Currently, WellPet has more than 2,700 active collection
locations and over 250,000 individuals participating in
the program; the company is looking to expand retailer
participation in 2019.

Supporting change

Purina made room for zero waste and kept the focus
on waste reduction with small changes and simple efforts. "Because we already had a recycling program
before we began our zero waste for disposal journey in
2014, we had existing balers in place, but they were limited for cardboard," Vander Bleek says. "We purchased
additional balers for plastic. We also needed to ensure
there was infrastructure and space inside the factory to
allocate for recycling hubs in a variety of locations that
could quickly be reached in a safe way. Signage and labeling was also critical. We color coded containers and
balers and created pictograms to help associates identify
what materials to sort into which bins. We took photos
of many common materials inside the facility and placed
them with the bins assigned to that material."
In addition to labeling and repurposing containers,
Purina also removed desk-side trash cans. Associates
now visit a common sorting station to dispose of any
waste. Purina says three key things really contributed
to the company's success of reaching zero waste for disposal in Clinton. "First, the initial waste to landfill examination was eye opening and those involved became
champions for driving the initiative," Vander Bleek explains. "Second, signage throughout the factory and on
containers to educate and create awareness was critical.

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PET Food Processing - March 2019

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