Mars' Bars Turn to Methane Energy

One of my favorite indulgences is a candy bar on the side. And now, that indulgence has gotten greener. Mars’ Waco plant, as of this week, is now using energy from landfill gas to power the plant. Mars produces a whole host of snack foods, as well as pet food and drinks. Most importantly, in my mind, they make Snickers.

Using methane gas to produce steam to power the plant’s furnaces will save Mars approximately $600,000 in energy costs each year — making the decision a sound financial move as well as good for environment. While Mars explored other power options, including using natural gas to power their plant, the company found that methane was their cheapest option. While the had to make more extensive initial preparations to be able to use landfill gases, they will be able to obtain methane inexpensively. Furthermore, using methane has a far more positive overall impact on the environment: landfills are the largest source of climate-changing gases. Eliminating even a portion of the methane a given landfill might leak can have a big impact on the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is facilitating the project through their Landfill Methane Outreach Program.

To put the amount of energy Mars’ Waco plant in context, getting the plant off the power grid, according to an editorial from the Waco Tribune (registration required), is like removing the need to head 2,700 fewer homes and taking 1,900 cars off the road. Mars has made an overall commitment to implement sustainable practices that match with their business needs. In the past, that has focused on the cocoa industry (Mars maintains a separate website just on cocoa sustainability), but they’ve begun to focus on making their entire operation cleaner. According to Mars.com, the company has reduced the landfill waste at their Victoria, Australia plant by 90 percent by turning it into pig feed. All in all, 220 tons of waste a month — mostly leftover chocolate of various qualities — is going to feed piglets instead of fill a landfill. And the waste from the pigs doesn’t go to the landfill either: Mars is using gases to generate electricity to run the plant. About 22 tons a month still wind up at a landfill, but Mars has set an eventual goal of zero waste.

In other snack food news, there was last month's announcement that the Frito-Lay plant in California where SunChips are produced now runs on solar energy as well. Are sodas next to go green? Or maybe potato chips?

Image courtesy Mars, Incorporated