Environmental Leader

Lipton has achieved its zero-landfill goal at its Suffolk, Va., plant, reports Wavy.com. About 70 percent of the plant’s waste is recycled or reused, 22 percent is composted and the remaining eight percent is converted into usable energy, according to the article.

More than a year ago, the Lipton facility formed partnerships with Sonoco, McGill and with the Southeastern Public Service Authority’s waste-to-energy facility to turn some waste into usable energy to provide steam for the U.S. Navy’s largest shipyard in nearby Portsmouth, Va., along with creating electricity that is sold through the electrical grid, according to Wavy.com.

The facility also implemented new waste management procedures such as eliminating plastic strapping on pallets, replacing non-recyclable cleaning wipes with reusable rags, and choosing reusable plastic pallets over traditional wooden ones, reports Wavy.com.

The article also cites the following savings as a result of the facility’s zero-landfill goal:

• 16 tons of plastic, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 13.76 tons
• 21,182 mature trees, the equivalent of 262 million sheets of newspaper
• 576,898 gallons of oil, enough to heat and cool 2,856 homes for a year
• 29,904 gallons of gasoline, enough to drive more than 837,000 miles in the average American car
• 8,722,000 gallons of water, enough to meet the daily fresh water needs of 116,293 Americans
• 5,108,600 kilowatt hours of electricity, or a years supply of power for more than 425 average homes