Our Environment
Waste Management
(GRI 306-1; 306-2)
Guided by a Global Packaging and Recycling Policy, our operations around the world work to reduce, reuse or recycle the maximum number of materials and minimize waste to landfills. Opportunities for improved performance in our facilities are identified and addressed in several ways, both daily through site-specific actions and long-term through the development of new technologies for scaled implementation.
JBS environmental teams outline the appropriate procedures for collecting, transporting, and disposing of waste correctly in accordance with regional laws and regulations, and define best practices for reduction across our production processes. Materials that can be recycled are separated and sent to recycling companies, and where possible, we partner with composting companies to transform organic waste into compost that can be used as fertilizer in crop fields. Nonrecyclable, hazardous, and harmful waste is separated for appropriate final disposal.
In Brazil, our Ambiental business specializes in waste management and plastic recycling. We have waste diversion and minimization initiatives in place at 23 operations across our Friboi, Seara, JBS Couros, and Swift businesses, where the team supports the management of recyclable waste and the segregation, processing, and transformation of plastic into new products through recycling.
Global Waste Generated in Operations by Disposal(GRI 306-3; 306-4; 306-5) |
||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Hazardous Waste¹ | Non-Hazardous Waste | Total Waste | Hazardous Waste¹ | Non-Hazardous Waste | Total Waste | |||||
| MT | % | MT | % | MT | MT | % | MT | % | MT | |
| Total Waste Generated | 62,057 | 2% | 3,633,591 | 98% | 3,695,648 | 34,247 | 1% | 2,561,056 | 99% | 2,595,303 |
| Waste diverted for final disposal | 12,453 | 0% | 2,887,878 | 100% | 2,900,331 | 25,490 | 1% | 1,893,600 | 99% | 1,919,090 |
| Diverted to a 3rd party | 12,453 | 0% | 2,672,391 | 100% | 2,684,844 | 25,490 | 2% | 1,622,708 | 98% | 1,648,198 |
| Reuse | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Recycling | 10,165 | 2% | 604,932 | 98% | 615,097 | 806 | 0% | 248,175 | 100% | 657,504 |
| Composting | 0 | 0% | 1,308,460 | 100% | 1,308,460 | 22,414 | 3% | 719,299 | 97% | 741,713 |
| Reverse Logistics | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Other | 2,288 | 0% | 758,999 | 100% | 761,287 | 2,270 | 0% | 655,234 | 100% | 657,504 |
| Diverted internally (JBS) | 0 | 0% | 215,487 | 100% | 215,487 | 0 | 0% | 270,892 | 100% | 270,892 |
| Reuse | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Recycling | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Composting | 0 | 0% | 215,340 | 100% | 215,340 | 0 | 0% | 270,892 | 100% | 270,892 |
| Reverse Logistics | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0% | 147 | 100% | 147 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Waste directed to disposal | 49,604 | 6% | 745,713 | 94% | 795,317 | 8,757 | 1% | 667,456 | 99% | 676,213 |
| Directed to a 3rd party | 47,781 | 6% | 743,078 | 94% | 790,859 | 6,621 | 1% | 663,183 | 99% | 669,804 |
| Incineration (with energy recovery) | 23,542 | 11% | 183,438 | 89% | 206,980 | 788 | 1% | 95,716 | 99% | 96,504 |
| Incineration (w/o energy recovery) | 90 | 0% | 21,172 | 100% | 21,262 | 177 | 1% | 17,935 | 99% | 18,112 |
| Landfill | 24,088 | 5% | 504,614 | 95% | 528,702 | 5,597 | 1% | 523,595 | 99% | 529,192 |
| Other | 61 | 0% | 33,854 | 100% | 33,915 | 59 | 0% | 25,937 | 100% | 25,996 |
| Directed internally (JBS) | 1,823 | 41% | 2,635 | 59% | 4,458 | 2,136 | 33% | 4,273 | 67% | 6,409 |
| Incineration (with energy recovery) | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Incineration (w/o energy recovery) | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Landfill | 1,823 | 41% | 2,635 | 59% | 4,458 | 2,136 | 33% | 4,273 | 67% | 6,409 |
| Other | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 |
Packaging
Proper packaging is essential to keeping our food products safe all the way to the consumer’s table, but it should not come at the expense of our environment. That is why we are continuing to explore alternative materials that offer compliance with regulations and recyclability and technologies that allow us to reduce the amount of packaging needed, while still maintaining strict product safety requirements. One of the aims of our Research and Development (R&D) teams is to reduce and optimize the use of primary (in direct contact with food), secondary, and tertiary packaging, thereby diminishing the amount of waste generated by customers and consumers.
Global Packaging Used (MT)(GRI 301-1; 301-2) |
||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||
| Total Packaging | 700,891.65 | |||||||
| Recyclable Packaging¹ | 280,231.04 | |||||||
| Non-Recyclable Packaging | 420,660.61 | |||||||
| Recycled Packaging² | 17,316.27 | |||||||
| Non-Recycled Packaging | 425,235.05 | |||||||
| Renewable Raw Material Packaging³ | 202,179.58 | |||||||
| Non-Renewable Raw Material Packaging4 | 486,305.60 | |||||||
| Packaging Recovered and Reused Through Reverse Logistics Programs⁵ | 81,909.30 | |||||||
| Packaging Not Recovered and Reused Through Reverse Logistics Programs⁵ | 618,982.35 | |||||||
- Has the potential for post-consumer recyclability.
- Produced from recycled materials.
- Includes paper, cardboard, pulp, and wood.
- Includes plastic, metal, Styrofoam, and glass.
- Excludes recalled and/or rejected product.
Case Studies:
JBS Australia and Opal, one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest renewable packaging and paper businesses, won the 2023 WorldStar global packaging award in the transit category for their innovative corrugated cardboard dunnage solution.
The innovative dunnage is designed to limit product movement during transportation, which can result in costly damage to product and food waste. Dunnage is usually constructed with expanded polystyrene (EPS), which can’t be easily recycled. Opal’s dunnage is a column-like corrugated structure made of a 100% recyclable cardboard alternative to EPS, using substitution to phase out unnecessary single-use plastic packaging. The dunnage enhances transportation and distribution efficiency as it accommodates 900 boxes per pallet, compared to traditional EPS dunnage which enables 200 boxes to be packed.
JBS USA Live Pork teamed up with Used Cardboard Boxes (UCB) in 2023 to better manage its waste practices.
The team conducted an on-site assessment and review of the last year’s-worth of waste invoices to establish a baseline of waste streams to landfill, recycling, composting, etc., and the cost efficiency of those disposal practices.
Upon review of the existing invoices, UCB recommended several actions for improvement, including optimizing production per trip to landfill and landfill diversion practices such as sending pallets and containers to recycling. In comparison to the same period last year, the company has increased pounds per trip to landfill, reducing the overall trips and diverting significant amounts of recyclable materials from the landfill back into the circular economy.
In 2023, Pilgrim’s Mexico replaced styrofoam trays with PET trays for its Just Bare product line.
PET is the most recyclable material in the world and can be recycled indefinitely while maintaining all its characteristics.
In the United States, our Grand Island, Nebraska, beef facility partnered with local agriculture to establish a compost operation.
Paunch and other organic solids generated at the facility were previously hauled to landfill, but by collaborating with a farmer to establish a more local alternative, the waste is now returned to the circular economy. Symbiotic reductions were ultimately achieved by both parties, decreasing waste sent to landfill by the beef plant and decreasing synthetic fertilizer sourced by the farming community.
At JBS Ambiental, plastic waste generated at JBS operations is recycled into civil construction material.
Plastic scraps from the multilayer packaging (PVDC) used to package natural products are typically difficult to recycle. That’s why the Research & Development team at JBS Ambiental developed a process to transform the excess plastic into material for manufacturing interlocking floors suitable for external environments, such as patio paving.
In Europe, Pilgrim’s Moy Park was the first poultry company to undertake a commitment to reduce packaging and food waste in its supply chain. The initiative is part of an ambitious campaign to combat the use of plastics and packaging in its business and in the industry.
The company plans to lower its global use of packaging by 5% each year, while simultaneously raising the percentage of recyclable packages by 5%. Among actions planned, Moy Park will collaborate with researchers and supply chain partners to develop sustainable packaging for its entire product portfolio and will eliminate single use plastic from its office and restaurants.
In 2022, our JBS Australia Southern operations in Victoria transitioned to using recyclable mono PET and compatible top web packaging. This ultimately reduced their packaging use volume by nearly 7%.
Furthermore, while the previously used material was non-recyclable, the new solution uses a curb-side collectable bottom web and return-to-store top web.
Pilgrims Food Masters is a signatory of the UK Plastic Pact, which brings together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain with U.K. governments and NGOs to tackle the scourge of plastic waste. Members agree to the following joint targets:
- Target 1 - Eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models;
- Target 2 - 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable;
- Target 3 - 70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted;
- Target 4 - 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging; and All targets to be achieved by 2025.
- Across our Richmond fresh pork sausages, we reduced the thickness of the plastic layer and reduced the bag sizes, resulting in a reduction of 36.1 MT.
- We moved our Richmond frozen sausages from a mixed laminate to mono laminate and reduced bag size, resulting in a reduction of 49 MT and increasing the recyclability of our packaging.
- Across our chilled ready meals, we introduced a pulp tray for one of our customers, removing 205 MT of virgin plastic annually.
- For another customer, we moved from 2 x virgin plastic PP trays to a single A-pet clam shell designed with recycled plastic, reducing 20 MT of plastic waste.
- At our Carrickmacross site, we have removed another 17 MT of plastic by removing all plastic tape from site.
All Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) used in Huon Aquaculture-branded and Coles-branded product was transitioned to Sealed Air HydroLoq® trays in 2022. This is now a 100% recyclable tray which no longer requires a soaker pad.
Since then, Woolworths-branded MAP and Aldi-branded MAP have now also transitioned. In 2023, we will estimate to see a reduction of 6.8 million absorbent pads (single use plastic) sent to landfill, which is equivalent to 54.4 MT.
In 2022, our Primo Smallgoods business reduced an estimated 5.9 MT
of cardboard material by automating carton packing on one of its Wacol factory lines.
In Brazil, JBS Ambiental invests in technology to convert post-industrial plastic waste into small resins. These are then transformed into other plastic materials, such as garbage bags and cages for animal transportation, which are used within JBS' own operations.
To learn more about JBS Ambiental, please visit Circular Economy and Reverse Logistics