Cummins announced Monday that three of its plants in the United Kingdom and one in France are the first four sites to achieve “Zero Disposal” status. Jon Mills, Cummins’ director of external communication, explains that Zero Disposal means that “100 percent of a facility’s waste is handled in a truly useful manner according to the company’s waste hierarchy.”

Mills says that means waste doesn’t go to a landfill and can only be incinerated at a waste-to-energy facility after reasonable efforts to reduce, re-use and recycle. Then, the waste must produce more energy than needed to merely sustain combustion.

The first four plants certified by the company as Zero Disposal are Cummins Turbo Technologies (CTT) in Huddersfield, UK; the Darlington Engine Plant in Darlington, UK; the Daventry Engine Plant in Daventry, UK and the Cummins Filtration Plant in Quimper, France, said Mills.

“Congratulations to the leaders and employees at the sites and all the partners that made these outstanding achievements possible,” said Cummins’ Brian Mormino, Executive Director – Worldwide Environmental Strategy & Compliance.

“Achieving Zero Disposal status is truly a team effort that takes a commitment by many people inside and outside of the sites to develop and implement a comprehensive waste strategy,” Mormino added. “The benefits to the environment and the business of these efforts are significant.”

Mills says that as part of its environmental sustainability plan, Cummins has established a goal of increasing its overall recycling rate from about 90 percent in 2014 to 95 percent by 2020. In addition, he adds that the company wants to reach Zero Disposal status at 30 sites by that same year.

“We have several more sites that are very close to achieving Zero Disposal status,” Mormino said. “I’m very encouraged by our start toward reaching this important goal of having 30 sites certified as Zero Disposal by 2020.”