West Liberty, Iowa — West Liberty Foods, L.L.C. announced that its West Liberty, Iowa facility has successfully achieved ‘landfill free’ status. This status was independently verified by NSF International Strategic Registrations Ltd. (NSF ISR) and dated December 13, 2012, meaning that West Liberty Foods achieved their goal of becoming a ‘landfill free’ company within one calendar year. The NSFISR verification process was used to ensure that West Liberty Foods could demonstrate the total waste from its West Liberty facility entering the landfill was less than 1%.
West Liberty Foods is among the first companies in the United States to have its ‘landfill free’ claim verified by a third party organization, a major milestone in the food industry. Through working to accomplish this status, the company’s West Liberty, Iowa facility has successfully diverted over 2 million pounds of annual waste from the local landfill. As the primary processing facility, the West Liberty location faced some unique challenges which were met headon by the team resulting in environmentally friendly solutions. “The West Liberty team used innovation to convert soiled plastic in to a combustible material that would be accepted by the disposal incinerator,” said Gerald Lessard, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for West Liberty Foods. “The utilization of this technology exemplified the innovative character of West liberty Foods and our team members.”
The West Liberty location is the last of the company’s facilities to be verified as ‘landfill free’, with the others being in Tremonton, Utah in March 2012 and Mount Pleasant, Iowa in July 2012. The company’s combined total waste saved from the landfill annually is now at 7.5 million pounds—or roughly 312 residential dump trucks which represents waste from over 265,000 households.
“This accomplishment marks a significant milestone in the history of our company, our industry and our state,” said Ed Garrett, President and CEO of West Liberty Foods. “Being ‘landfill free’ is a testament to our team, and it is my hope that other companies will see our success here and undertake similar initiatives in their own businesses.”
West Liberty Foods is committed to environmental excellence when serving its clients and the communities that it calls home. As a result of the success seen in Tremonton, Mount Pleasant, and West Liberty, the company plans to hold an event celebrating the success in the spring of 2013 at the facility in West Liberty, Iowa.
About West Liberty Foods: West Liberty Foods is a leading copacker, private label manufacturer, and foodservice supplier of sliced deli meats and fully cooked IQF products. They supply products to many wellknown retail and foodservice chains nationwide. In 2004 they became the first turkey processing facility to become ISO 14001:2004 certified.
About NSF International: NSF International is an independent public health and safety organization that writes standards and certifies products for the food, water and consumer goods industries to minimize adverse health effects and protect the environment (nsf.org). Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting human health and safety worldwide and operates in more than 150 countries. NSF is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Food and Water Safety and Indoor Environment.
Source: West Liberty Foods