DIVERTING our WASTE from LANDFILL
As a manufacturer, minimizing our waste and handling it responsibly are crucial components of fulfilling our environmental responsibility. Our goal as a company is to meet the Zero Waste certification standards, which require 90% of waste be diverted from landfill at each of our facilities. In 2016, we began working with Iowa Waste Exchange, a non-regulatory program of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, to investigate additional opportunities to divert waste from the landfill. We track three major waste streams: landfill, compost, and recycling. The sum of recycled material and com- post tonnage equals our waste diverted from the landfill, and the diversion rate is this number divided by the total tonnage of all of the waste we generate. Measuring our waste in this way helps us to more accurately track progress against our 90% diversion goals in the context of our production output each year.
Target: Divert more than 90% of waste from landfill from each of our four Iowa facilities by 2025.
PROGRESS TOWARD 90% DIVERSION FROM LANDFILL
FY20
FY21
FY22
WASTE DATA*
WASTE INTENSITY (TONS/1000 UNITS)
0.0140
0.0158
0.0153
LANDFILL DIVERSION RATE (%)
84%
80%
71%
*Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our facilities had been making steady progress toward our 90% diversion goal. However, the pandemic heavily impacted this work in FY20 and FY21. Additionally, in FY22, the primary industrial composting facility utilized by manufacturers across the state of Iowa closed, sending the state’s composting streams reeling. We are continuing to work with a state-wide consortium to create more composting facilities in the state.
Photos: A Frontier Co-op employee demonstrates how to use Zero Waste bins in the production area.
2022 Social Responsibility Report | 43
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator