GREENSBURG, Ind. — The Kroger Co.'s (NYSE: KR) K.B. Specialty Foods this week broke ground on a new anaerobic wastewater treatment system at its facility in Greensburg, Indiana.
The modification will turn food production byproducts into energy and will also lead to improved air quality in the area.
"This is one more step toward meeting our goal of becoming a zero waste company by 2020," said Suzanne Lindsay –Walker, Kroger's director of sustainability.
K.B. Specialty Foods employs 270 and produces deli salads, cake icing, and refrigerated side dish products that are popular all over the country.
The current wastewater treatment system in the facility is open to the air. The new system will feature a dome that will capture biogas from food byproducts at the plant. The collected biogas will then be harnessed to generate electricity.
ADI Systems, the project builder, says the new facility relies on a process called anaerobic digestion. Microorganisms will transform the byproducts of food production into the biogas. ADI Systems says that process provides "a source of renewable energy that can be used to displace fossil fuels." The electricity created will be sent to the plant's electrical grid.
K.B. Specialty Foods expects the new system to be operational next summer.
Every day, the Kroger Family of Companies makes a difference in the lives of eight and a half million customers and 431,000 associates who shop or serve in 2,781 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and its subsidiaries operate an expanding ClickList offering – a personalized, order online, pick up at the store service – in addition to 2,240 pharmacies, 785 convenience stores, 323 fine jewelry stores, 1,423 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Kroger is recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.
Source: The Kroger Co.
