P&G Vows Zero Manufacturing Waste from All Production Sites by 2020

P&G announced on January 11 it will make additional investments in recycling and beneficial reuse that will eliminate all manufacturing waste from its global network of more than 100 production sites by 2020.

Currently 56% of its global production sites qualify as zero manufacturing waste to landfill. Plans are now in place to complete the remaining facilities over the next four years.

This means eliminating or beneficially re-using about 650,000 metric tons of waste, equivalent to the weight of nearly 350,000 mid-sized cars that would typically go to landfills.

“We are accelerating progress toward our long term vision and pushing ourselves to do more – with less waste,” said Shailesh Jejurikar, executive sponsor for sustainability and President of Global Fabric Care. “Since 2010, we’ve been working toward a vision of sending zero manufacturing and consumer waste to landfills. This announcement marks another step on that journey.”

P&G will achieve its zero waste goals by ensuring all incoming materials are either:

- converted into finished product,

- recycled internally or externally or

- re-used in alternative ways through partnerships.

The company has been focusing on finding unique alternatives for its waste including the following:

• In Lima, Ohio, liquid waste from products like Tide and Gain are being converted to and other alternative fuels sources to power vehicles.
• In India non-recyclable plastic laminate materials from plants in Mandideep and Baddi, India are shredded and pressed into low-cost building panels.
• In China production waste from one facility is composted as "nutritional soil" for local parks; waste from another facility is being used as a raw material to make bricks.

P&G said it is not only reusing and recycling for its own needs, but it is investing in local communities by helping convert its waste into raw materials and feedstock for other companies.

Currently, more than half of P&G’s production sites have achieved zero manufacturing waste to landfill status, including a broad range of product families and geographic regions. In 19 countries (Germany, UK, Poland, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Egypt, Belgium, Ireland, Vietnam, Hungary, Indonesia, Czech, Romania, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Turkey and Pakistan) all manufacturing facilities have met the zero waste qualification, and the company is approaching 100% of sites in other countries including China and India.