COACHELLA, CALIF. — When the topic of recycling is discussed, the recycling of packaging — converting plastic, paper and glass packaging into new materials for future use — usually leads the discussion. But recycling can and should go beyond packaging. It should include what’s inside.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 30% to 40% of the US food supply is wasted each year. This equates to around 133 billion lbs (more than $161 billion worth) of food going to waste annually in the United States. And most of this product ends up in landfills around the country. Companies like Denali are trying to find alternatives to landfills, diverting organic waste from landfills in an effort to provide more sustainability across the food supply chain.
“Denali is the nation’s leading full-service organic recycler,” said Samuel Liebl, director of communications for Denali. “We touch everyone who consumes food in the United States because we’re involved at several points in the food supply chain. It all comes back to returning nutrients back to the supply chain and being an alternative to landfills.”
As a specialty waste and environmental services company, Denali procures wasted food byproducts from food manufacturing facilities, retail grocery store chains and restaurants to be re-processed into usable products and materials. The company closes the circular sustainability loop by producing products including animal feed, biodiesel, compost, tire lubricants and mulch from recycled organics.
Among the various products Denali converts into animal feed is unused pet food. Unsold, outdated and even recalled pet foods can all be converted into valuable feed for livestock instead of piling up in over-stocked landfills.
“Landfills should not be the first choice. Manufacturers should recognize that their waste has value and it’s something that we should be keeping in the agricultural economy.” Samuel Liebl, director of communications for Denali.
“Landfills should not be the first choice,” Liebl said. “Manufacturers should recognize that their waste has value and it’s something that we should be keeping in the agricultural economy.”
There are a number of benefits to using food waste as animal feed, according to Denali. First and foremost, it reduces the waste that could have ended up in a landfill. It also provides a lower cost alternative to traditional animal feed sources. And finally, using food waste as animal feed can help reduce the demand for land and water resources needed to produce feed crops.
Denali’s pet food recycling operation takes place at its Coachella plant, formerly owned and operated by Imperial Western Products (IWP). The company acquired IWP and its California, Arizona and Texas locations in 2022.
Originally founded by the Trawick family in 1966 and passed on to three generations, IWP started its business treating cotton seed byproducts to remove aflatoxins to create a non-toxic, value-added product for the feed industry. From there the company diversified to convert other organic byproducts, such as cooking oil, into animal feed. Later, the company developed processes to further refine cooking oil to produce biofuels.
Further diversification led the company to collect additional food waste from manufacturers producing potato chips, cookies and tortillas and turning those unused products into a livestock feed substitute for corn. In 2017, the company was asked if its processes could also be applied to the conversion of pet food into feed — for aquaculture, poultry and swine.
IWP is now the center of Denali’s West Coast operations.
“IWP brings Denali a larger and more diverse presence in the Western US,” said Andy McNeill, Denali’s chairman of the board, at the time of the IWP acquisition. “As governments, consumers and industries push for more sustainability and less waste in landfills, IWP is well-positioned as a leader in this key market. The integration of IWP into Denali complements and expands the comprehensive environmental service capabilities we offer to customers.”
The process of converting unused pet food into value-added animal feed involves connecting a lot of points along the supply chain. Pet food arrives at the Coachella facility from pet food manufacturers throughout the Western states in bulk truck loads, as well as in packages on pallets. Packaged products are removed from their packaging materials using a manual or sometimes mechanical de-packaging process. The packaging materials are later recycled, burned or even returned to the processor.
Unused bakery products are collected and processed into livestock feed at Denali's recycling facilities.
Source: Denali“Packaging is no longer a barrier to whether product can be recycled,” said Jason Cabanyog, senior vice president of operations — West for Denali. “We do what we can to recycle the product inside and the packaging too.”
Pet food is ground into a fine powder and then tested for Salmonella before being shipped out as a feed ingredient. Because of the testing procedures performed on all product before it leaves the facility, recalled pet food can also be sent in to be converted into animal feed.
“A lot of product gets wasted after a recall is issued, but we can still use it,” Cabanyog said. “If product is recalled by a pet food manufacturer, we let them know that we can take it. We test it all before and after it’s processed.”
All products are turned over within one or two weeks of arriving at the facility and shipped out in 25-ton truckloads to feed locations, most of which are within a 250-mile radius of the plant.
Manufacturers striving to reach their sustainability goals may find a partnership with Denali as a valuable additional step in their journey.
“A lot of companies are starting to talk about trying to reach zero landfill goals,” Cabanyog said. “We are helping them work on those initiatives.”
Liebl added, “Corporate sustainability commitments are a big part of what’s driving our business, and the whole organics recycling industry.”
Read more about sustainability efforts across the pet food and treat industry.
