Jessup Business Eliminates All Waste Headed To Landfill

JESSUP, MD — Tate Inc., a market leader in the manufacturing of raised access floors and data center management solutions, announced that it has achieved its goal of eliminating all waste going to landfill from its three offices and manufacturing sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania 10 years ahead of its target of 2030.

A division of Kingspan, Tate is part of the company’s 10-year global sustainability program, Planet Passionate. All Kingspan companies throughout the world participate in the initiative, which aims to impact three major global issues: climate change, circularity and protection of our natural world.

Through Planet Passionate, Tate is driving energy and carbon out of business operations and supply chains, increasing recycling of rainwater and waste and accelerating participation in the circular economy. The Planet Passionate initiative was predicated by a Net Zero Energy initiative which commenced in 2011, with the goal of obtaining Net Zero Energy by 2020.

The zero waste to landfill goal was achieved through a combination of reuse, recycling and energy generation. Shelby Burns told Patch that Tate Access Floors has been headquartered in Jessup for more than 55 years. Two of its manufacturing facilities also are located in Jessup. Cement aggregate wastes from the company’s Red Lion, Pa., and Jessup manufacturing facilities are now being reused for pavement solutions. Cardboard, steel and aluminum wastes are recycled. All other non-recyclable general waste, which accounts for 15 percent of the total, is now being incinerated at local county solid waste facilities to generate energy.

"Tate recycles water on site to be reused in its production facility, while all other waste is outsourced to vendors and companies who specialize in the recycling or reuse of these specific wastes," Burns said. "The construction and operation of buildings is a major contributor to global final energy use and energy-related CO2 emissions, so it is increasingly important for companies like ours to take serious actions to foster a better environment. We are constantly investigating and implementing new ways to reduce the environmental impact of our manufacturing processes and business operations through improved energy efficiency, automation and environmentally friendly solutions."