WASHINGTON, IND. — Perdue Farms announced on Aug. 3 that its turkey production plant located in Washington, Ind., earned a GreenCircle Zero Waste to Landfill certification.

The company said this was the first US turkey processing facility and third Perdue facility to earn the third-party environmental validation.

While the plant was audited between May 2021 and April 2022, GreenCircle confirmed that the operation diverted 100% of its waste from landfills starting in January 2022. It also said it kept nearly 155 million lbs from landfills during the total audit period.

“This achievement required an enormous collective effort from our team here, and we are tremendously proud to contribute to the company’s overall goals to reduce our environmental impact,” said Brandon Bottorff, director of operations at Perdue’s Washington, Ind., facility. “The GreenCircle team’s expertise helped us solidify best practices and processes for achieving our goals as well as continuous improvement.”

GreenCircle completed audits and assessments of all waste streams at the facility. This included hazardous and non-hazardous materials, inspection of all waste receptacles, and assessment of all third-party waste management companies to confirm management methods and diversion rates. 

Other areas assessed included the personal protective equipment worn by associates, the process used to minimize contamination of the cardboard recycling stream, and the beneficial reuse of cardboard, paper and feathers, as a few examples.

“Perdue’s pursuit of their waste diversion goals demonstrates that transparency and continuous improvement are essential to the way they do business,” said Michelle Bonanno, director of operations at GreenCircle.

Perdue Farms completed the GreenCircle Zero Waste certification in 2020 at its Lewiston, NC, poultry operation, and the company’s Petaluma, Calif. operation earned the certification in 2021.

“The certification of our Indiana operation reflects the effort behind achieving our company’s vision to be the most trusted name in food and agricultural products, and our commitment to being good stewards of our environment,” said Drew Getty, vice president of environmental sustainability and government relations for Perdue Farms. “We continue working to expand our zero waste to landfill efforts to additional operations, and our progress to reduce our environmental impact in our operations represents our company’s holistic approach to responsible and sustainable practices.”