TricorBraun: A Study in Successful Waste Management

Challenge

TricorBraun, a leader in the packaging industry for more than 120 years, is focused on developing sustainable practices through packaging design — as well as improved supply chain and distribution activities — to care for our planet and future generations. In 2022, the TricorBraun team began developing a waste management program that could potentially be rolled out across more than 50 facilities throughout North America to help increase waste diversion, establish realistic diversion goals, and get to 90% diversion across key sites. To do this, they needed to develop both the strategic roadmap for how to establish and implement an effective program, as well as the data to inform their efforts along the way.

Solution

Starting with waste characterization baseline studies across eight sites, ENGIE Impact took a guided tour during production hours, collected all the waste generated in a 24-hour period, and developed an overall assessment of how waste was handled at each site.

Opportunities for improvement were identified, including diverting recyclable materials (cardboard and comingled materials like bottles, cans, and paper) by implementing new recycling services. Interventions included installing standardized color-coded bins that corresponded to the relevant materials, displaying signage to show which materials should go into which bin, and internal training to review the various new disposal processes. There were additional efforts to reuse wood pallets and to work with vendors to use more recyclable packaging.

Throughout 2022, a St. Louis site implemented the relevant recommendations. An additional site assessment was then conducted in 2023 to see what progress was made toward their waste management goals.

Results

Once new practices were in place, ENGIE Impact conducted a validation audit at the St. Louis TricorBraun site and found:

• Improvement from a 79% diversion rate in 2021 to a diversion rate of over 98% since September 2022, qualifying as a Zero Waste to Landfill facility
• Reduction in the amount of trash sent to landfills from an average of 10 tons per year in 2021 to .5 tons in 2023
• Achieving 0% contamination during a 24-hour landfill sample

TricorBraun has begun rolling out similar interventions across additional North American sites, including comingle recycling, specialized vendors where applicable, and more to support an overall 2024 Zero Waste Optimization program.