Danone North America Continues its "Zero Waste to Landfill" Journey with Achievement at Minster, OH Plant

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Mar 09, 2020, 09:00 ET

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and BROOMFIELD, Colo., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Danone North America today announced the next milestone on its journey to achieve "Zero Waste to Landfill" status across all of its twelve manufacturing locations in the U.S. with the accomplishment at its 58-acre Minster, OH plant. The Minster plant completed the entire complex review and conversion process in under two years and is now the company's second Zero Waste facility. Danone North America's Bridgeton, NJ facility announced its achievement on June 4, 2019.

Danone North America's Minster, OH plant achieves “Zero Waste to Landfill” status

The Zero Waste journey involves a constant evaluation to optimize the choice and usage of materials and a strong commitment to eliminating waste, not just treating it. Danone North America defines "Zero Waste to Landfill" as follows:

Less than 1% of non-hazardous waste is disposed to landfill;
No hazardous waste is sent to landfill;
Incineration without energy recovery is prohibited, except for hazardous waste disposal as required by law; and
Less than 50% of waste is processed into a fuel source.

"Over the past year we've seen great momentum towards establishing a culture of Zero Waste at our manufacturing plants across North America and are confident in plans for expansion in the years ahead. The production site for nearly 20 products from beloved brands including Oikos, Light & Fit and Danimals, our Minster facility is the largest yogurt plant in the United States, making this latest achievement particularly noteworthy," said Mariano Lozano, CEO of Danone North America. "Achieving Zero Waste at our Minster and Bridgeton facilities is an extension of our commitment to align business decisions with people and the planet as the world's largest Certified B Corporation^®. We look forward to continuing our landfill-free journey with our remaining facilities across the United States while also continuously working to reduce our overall environmental impact."

"I commend Danone North America's commitment to 'Zero Waste to Landfill' in Minster," said State Representative Susan Manchester of District 84. "It is a great accomplishment and contributes to the betterment of the 84th Ohio House District."

Since achieving Zero Waste to Landfill at the Minster plant, the site has sent less than one percent of waste to landfill each month. In 2020 alone, the Minster plant will keep approximately 180,000 tons of waste out of landfills. To learn more about the approach of Danone North America to driving a circular economy, visit http://www.danonenorthamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NA-Circularity-Commitments-Fact-Sheet.pdf.

The first step to achieving Zero Waste to Landfill is increased production efficiency to reduce waste throughout manufacturing, office and research and innovation activities. Waste includes any material no longer intended for its original use that is required to be recovered (i.e., recycled, reused, composted) or not recovered (i.e., landfilled, incinerated without energy recovery). This includes sludge, by-products of food making, food waste, packaging waste, hazardous, and other non-hazardous waste. The achievement was accomplished with support from Veolia, which provides counsel and services to help eliminate waste, while increasing recycling and reuse.

About Danone North America
Danone North America is a purpose-driven company with a portfolio of dairy and plant-based foods. As the world's largest Certified B Corporation^®, Danone North America is committed to the creation of both economic and social value, while nurturing natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Our portfolio of brands includes: Activia^®, DanActive^®, Danimals^®, Dannon^®, Good Plants™, Horizon Organic^®, International Delight^®, Light + Fit^®, Oikos^®, Silk^®, So Delicious^® Dairy Free, STōK^®, Two Good™, Vega^®, Wallaby^® Organic and YoCrunch^®. With more than 6,000 employees and 12 production locations across the U.S., our mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. For more information, visit www.danonenorthamerica.com. For more information on Danone North America's B Corp™ status, visit: https://bcorporation.net/directory/danone-north-america.