Since October 2015, the facilities across the US have eliminated over 9.2 million lbs. of waste from local landfills.

West Liberty Foods’ is one of the first in the nation to be verified landfill-free companywide, eliminating nearly 120 million lbs. annually of waste previously sent to local landfills.

“We are incredibly proud of the effort it took to accomplish this significant achievement in our company,” said Ed Garrett, president and CEO of West Liberty Foods. “We are committed to ensuring we remain landfill-free long-term, always striving to improve our environmental footprint.”

The company engages in recycling programs and partnerships with waste vendors, relying on company employees to take actions to minimize by-products. All of West Liberty Foods’ locations employ ISO 14001 certified environmental management systems to help manage their environmental impact and waste elimination.

West Liberty Foods implemented a waste-reduction business plan, allowing its Tremonton, Utah, facility to become the company’s first landfill-free facility in February 2012. By the end of 2012, two other West Liberty Foods operations – Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and West Liberty, Iowa – also achieved landfill-free status.

“Commitment from company leadership and awareness of employees are key to successfully making the change,” said Michelle Boney, environmental, health and safety director. “Working together, we developed a way to do things differently, implemented new processes and finding an alternative for all waste.”

West Liberty Foods’ landfill-free status was independently verified by NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR), an organization that certifies products and writes standards for food, water, and consumer goods. The verification process was used to confirm the total waste being sent to landfills from its facilities is less than the one percent. This includes manufacturing refuse, incoming packaging, office paper and food waste.