PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 64

OPERATIONS

waste will focus on all parts of the value chain including
upstream post-harvest losses and downstream logistics.

Holistic approach

Efforts to become more sustainable stretch across all
areas of operation for a processor and solutions that work
are unique to each facility. What St. Louis-based Nestlé
Purina calls its "war on waste" began as an internal movement in 2010 to engage associates and implement ways
to eliminate unnecessary waste within its processes. "The
environmental benefits were apparent from the beginning," says Gopi Sandhu, director of sustainable operations, Nestlé Purina North America. "After we understood our waste streams, we could identify beneficial use
destinations. Each factory set its own timing, strategy and
ultimate path to reach our 2020 commitment, and they do
an amazing job of supporting each other on this journey."
Purina is working toward zero environmental impact in its operations. "Along with our parent company,
Nestlé, Purina has set clear commitments and objectives
to use sustainably managed and renewable resources,
operate more efficiently, achieve zero waste for disposal,
and care for water," Sandhu says. "By 2020, it is our goal
to achieve zero waste for disposal across all of our sites
- all 21 factories and headquarters." More than 75% of
Purina facilities have achieved this milestone and are on
track to meet the company's 2020 target.
Pet food and treat processors are finding a wide range
of opportunities to lessen the industry's environmental impact. Netherlands-based WHIMZEES, part of
WellPet's family of brands, chose three primary areas to
focus on improving. "The first was energy efficiency. We
invested in machinery with energy recovery capabilities,
which means it uses 40% percent less," explains Felix
Mueller-Ohl, COO, WHIMZEES' Netherlands factory.
"Similarly, we reuse heat produced from our refrigerators, machinery, and utilities to warm up our production
facilities and help power our material processing, helping us reuse energy that would otherwise be wasted and
released back into the environment."
The second area WHIMZEES addressed was waste reduction. "While most of our raw materials are sourced
locally, waste is somewhat inevitable once those raw materials get processed into a finished product," MuellerOhl continues. "To alleviate that impact, 90% of our
waste goes into composting, with the remaining 10%
being recycled."
Lastly, WHIMZEES evaluated other facets of its facilities and found other opportunities to minimize the company's environmental footprint, including zero waste
Not all municipalities can handle the amount of compost material
pet food processing can produce.
©Eric Simard - stockadobe.com

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PET Food Processing - March 2019

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