Landfills are bad. Among other bad things, they produce methane gas, depreciate the value of surrounding property, threaten native wildlife, and are entirely unsustainable. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are more than 3,000 active landfills in the United States, and over 10,000 inactive municipal landfills, sitting around and reeking of certain non-biodegradable snack foods. Although large corporations are the biggest contributors to these towering trash heaps, several companies are leading the way in environmentally-friendly efforts by recycling, reusing, and sending zero pounds of waste to landfills.
For instance, DuPont Building Innovations in New York uses the food trash from their cafeteria for compost, their used shipping palettes for shredded animal bedding, and their excess stone product as recycled countertops or landscaping boulders. They even use the non-composted food for generating energy! In the short span of three years, DuPont has gone from sending 81 million pounds of trash to landfills to zero pounds of trash.
The U.S. Army is enlisting in the landfill waste movement, too. The Army’s goal is to recycle 100% of their electronics, along with establishing eight zero-landfill bases by 2020. PepsiCo has slashed their volume of trash by 88%, and cooked up a strategy with crop farmers to decrease carbon emissions and water usage by 50%, too. The president of PepsiCo, Richard Evans, made this comment on his company’s recycling efforts:
“Sustainable businesses can cut costs, drive innovation, reduce risk, and motivate employees. It can help our retail customers and increase consumer loyalty,”
We couldn’t agree more! To learn more about the “Zero to Landfill” initiative and join in on the green goodness, check out http://www.zerolandfill.net/, and come support manufacturers of recycled products at The Greener Good!
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