6. Environment >
6.4 Water Use & Wastewater >
6.4.3 Solid Waste
Solid Waste Management
Ben & Jerry’s tracks and measures the amount of solid waste and recycled material generated at our manufacturing plants. Recycled material, though diverted from the landfill, is still considered a solid waste. We measure the percent of recycled material as a percentage of the total solid waste stream on an annual basis. While our goal is to achieve source reduction, we still work hard at improving the amount of material that we recycle.
Packaged product, including ingredients determined to be unusable or unfit for consumption is incinerated at Covanta Energy, a waste-to-energy plant in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Waste ice cream is considered a liquid and therefore is banned from landfills.
In 2006 the manufacturing sites did an outstanding job in managing the waste stream. The overall amount of solid waste generated decreased while our recycling rate increased several percentage points to 62%. Ben & Jerry’s has continually maintained a greater than 50% recycling rate for its total waste stream and the increase to over 60% in 2006 reflects the dedication to solid waste diversion.
Some of the activities that contributed to the increase include:
- Increase in the number of corrugated boxes sold
- Broader input to waste reduction opportunities by employees
- Better collection containers purchased to replace old ones
In 2006 the manufacturing plants substantially decreased the amount of substandard product that required incineration at Covanta Energy’s facility. Through dedicated efforts to reduce waste and errors, the plants reduced the amount incinerated to just 399 tons, a 36% reduction below 2005 levels.
The Waterbury plant has chosen not to establish solid waste reduction goals to focus on the three most significant areas of impact, wastewater, high strength dairy waste, and biochemical oxygen demand (a regulated wastewater parameter).