Home improvement store Menards, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was awarded the Business Friend of the Environment Award from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce for its wood recycling efforts, a report from The Leader-Telegram says. The company reportedly recycled 7 million broken wood pallets and 114 million pounds of wood waste last year.
The wood waste is taken to the company’s Eau Claire, Wisconsin headquarters where it’s hand-sorted, ground and processed, the report says. Some of it turns into the mulch that the company, in turn, sells in its stores. Higher grade wood is created into new products, mostly composite decking, and the rest of the scraps turn into fuel through wood-burning boilers during the winter.
The company recently invested in a $3.5 million upgrade to the facility, which included new equipment and two large storage buildings with a 916-ton capacity, the report says, and accepts scrap wood from surrounding landfills, waste haulers and building contractors.
There were 32 nominees for the awards but only nine winners in the categories of innovation, stewardship and sustainability, according to the report. Menards won the large employer award in the sustainability category.
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