Frito-Lay plant earns spot in EPA top-performance program

Frito-Lay Inc.’s Jonesboro, Ark., plant will eliminate tons of waste and reduce water usage at the facility as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s top “green leadership” program. The snack food maker earned its spot in the prestigious National Environmental Performance Track program by maintaining a sustained environmental compliance record and making new commitments to reduce, reuse and recycle at its facility.

“Frito-Lay is proof that a business can be a leader in its industry as well as in protecting the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “Performance Track members work arm-in-arm with EPA to set challenging environmental performance goals and deliver real results that will preserve and protect our natural resources.”

As part of their participation in the program, Frito-Lay has committed to do the following over the next three years:
* Reduce 1.6 million pounds of pollution by adding a secondary wastewater treatment system;
* Reduce total water use by 31.5 million gallons by recycling water used during potato peeling; and
* Recycle more than 1,000 tons of waste through increased recycling efforts.

"Frito-Lay’s Jonesboro facility exemplifies the important efforts and great achievements all our facilities are making in environmental sustainability,” said Rich Beck, senior vice president, operations, Frito-Lay North America. “As an organization we are pleased to work with the EPA to continue challenging ourselves to further reduce our environmental impact and to preserve the vital resources we all need – like energy and water.”

The Performance Track program recognizes and drives environmental excellence by encouraging facilities with strong environmental records to go above and beyond their legal requirements. Members include major corporations, small businesses, and public facilities that typically set public, measurable goals to improve the quality of our nation’s air, water, and land.

Since the Performance Track program’s inception in 2000, membership has grown to more than 470 members in 46 states and Puerto Rico, and those members have made 1,500 commitments to benefit the environment. To date, members have collectively reduced their water use by 3.5 billion gallons, cut the equivalent of 90,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and conserved more than 14,000 acres of land.

The program was named as one of 50 top government programs in the country by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The recognition was for uniqueness, effectiveness, significance and potential for replication.

Performance Track members come from a wide range of industries, such as paper, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, resorts and government agencies, among others. More information about the Performance Track program is available at http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/.