We are pleased to announce the 2011 recognition recipients in the "Large Business" category.
General Mills Canada Corporation
The cookie manufacturing facility in Midland is well know for making sweet things but they have also worked hard to make a positive environmental change.
The General Mills plant installed a closed loop refrigeration system and low flow water guns in their sanitation system, reducing water output by more than a million gallons of water a month.
In addition they’ve worked hard to cut their solid waste output so now more than 95 per cent of waste is recycled. Food waste is sent for recycling to animal food processors and left over oil is reused and turned into soil aerators. All paper is recycled and the company has switched to washable cups for their food testing program.
The company also helps keep the area around the plant clean with their Pitch In Day, which last year, had more than 60 percent of the available workforce helping to pick up litter.
Sims Recycling Solutions
The Sims Group recycles electronics. Not an easy task since the computers and televisions we use daily contain hundreds of different types of plastics and the glass in monitors often contains lead, which is highly toxic.
In 2010 the company diverted 27 million pounds of electronics from landfills.
The Mississauga-based Sims also works with schools and communities to collect electronics that would otherwise end up in Ontario landfills.
It takes much less energy to recycle many of the metals in our electronics than it does to mine them from the ground.
Sims estimates that more than 70 per cent of e-waste is not recycled. The company hopes to get more Ontarians recycling their old electronics.
