Through maximising recycling, the company said it had taken another step towards reaching its environmental targets and achieving its 'Closer to Nature' ambition.
Arla said it is now recycling over 90 per cent of waste, with none going directly to landfill. The remaining waste is either recovered or will be processed into a high grade refuse derived fuel (RDF), a pulverised waste that can be used to produce energy.
The processor said its achievement was a big step towards helping Arla reach its goal of reducing its carbon impact by 34 per cent by 2020. It added that it had also achieved a key target in its wider environmental strategy, launched this year, which addresses the whole supply chain, from dairy farmers through to consumers.
Lars Dalsgaard, business group director of supply chain, Arla, said: “This is an enormous achievement for us and a great success on which to end 2011. Colleagues across all our sites are very aware of the company’s sustainability responsibilities, and have been working hard to help us reduce our environmental impact."
Sustainability manager, Richard Laxton, added: “In addition to reducing waste at our sites, we also contribute surplus product to the FareShare scheme. Also, food waste from our dairies and distribution centres is also used to generate biogas and green electricity at off-site anaerobic digestion plants.”
Said Lars: “As a company, we’ve made a commitment globally to become the Closer to Nature dairy company, and in 2012 we will continue to concentrate on finding new, innovative methods to reduce our carbon footprint even further.”