New Zealand – Hautapu factory triumphs with waste

Waikato Times reports that cutting rubbish dumping by 60 per cent was a factor behind a hat trick of industry awards for Fonterra‘‘s Hautapu factory.



At the annual Dairy Industry Quality Performance Awards in Wellington on June 20. Fonterra Hautapu collected the Ecolab Eco-Efficiency Award for its environmental and waste reduction efforts.



Site manager Dave Young said the eco-efficiency award stemmed from an effort to reduce rubbish to landfills and set up recycling systems. The dairy giant exports used butter wrap and old cheese and milk-powder bags to China for production of polypropylene garments and carpeting.



Fonterra director of group manufacturing and supply chain Gary Romano said the award was a tribute to the team‘‘s focus on continuously improving the site‘‘s environmental practices.



“We have set some ambitious environmental targets for our manufacturing sites and they have risen to the challenge, achieving some significant wins earlier than anticipated, including a 60 per cent reduction in the volume of waste sent to landfill and a 10 per cent reduction in our energy usage.”