The maker of Wet-Nap towelettes has announced its Green Bay, Wis. Manufacturing plant will no longer send most of its industrial waste into landfills. Instead, it is converting 1,200 – 1,500 tons of waste every year into biomass fuel pellets that can be used to generate electricity.
The plant will still send about 10 tons of waste to landfill every year. It is currently producing 125 tons of pellets every day, and is aiming for 300 tons daily.
The Orangeburg, NY-based company, Nice-Pak Products, Inc., makes wet wipe products such as the original Wet-Nap Moist Towelettes, Sani-Hands Instant Hand Sanitizing Wipes, and Sani-Cloth Germicidal Disposable Wipes.
"Converting our waste into fuel pellets eliminates approximately 50,000 cubic feet of landfill per year and replaces approximately 1.0 million pounds of coal per year," said Brad Zenko, Senior Director of Operations. The company said it is also reducing waste by recycling its cardboard boxes, about 150 tons of it, barrels and shrink wrap.
In January the company launched a strategic plan to coordinate sustainability initiatives taking place at its individual facilities. The five-year plan calls for converting another of its four U.S. plants to "zero landfill" in the next three years. It also addressed goals in the following areas: Energy Use & GHG Emissions, Materials Efficiency, Components & Chemistry, Water Impact, and Community Education.
The company said that, through its conservation measures, waste production at the plant is only equivalent to about 2 percent of overall production. The plant is the first by the company to reach its ‘zero landfill’ status, and the company hopes to have another reach that goal within three years.
Nice-Pak recently won the WOW Innovation Award in January for its new Eco-Pak design, which uses less materials than its previous packaging solution.
Kraft said it has also managed to reduce its waste production by 30 percent, while all of the six Sunny Delight manufacturing plants in the U.S. have reached zero landfill status.
