Wendy Nathaly Sangucho Loachamin's Research with Ever Fresh Fruit Company
Industry: Food and Beverage
Project Type: Water, Carbon, Chemical, and Solid Waste Reduction
Location: Boring, OR
Major/University: Portland State University, PhD. Earth, Environment and Society (EES)
Summary
Wendy interned with Ever Fresh Fruit Company to identify opportunities for making their operations more sustainable and collected baseline data on water, energy, solid waste, and chemical use. Wendy was able to pinpoint areas for improvement and recommend practical strategies to reduce resource consumption across the board—helping Everfresh take meaningful steps toward a greener future.
Company Background
Ever Fresh Fruit Company started in 1968 as a small family fruit stand and has grown into a big name in the food ingredient industry. Today, it has two main divisions: Apple Processing (AP), which provides fresh and frozen apple products to bakeries and food service companies, and Specialty Formulated Ingredient Processing (FIP), which makes custom flavors for dairy, non-dairy, bakery, and drink products. Throughout it all, Ever Fresh stays focused on quality and innovation.
Project Description
Ever Fresh Fruit Company lacked comprehensive data to fully understand their environmental impacts and identify effective pollution prevention measures. They sought to gather detailed environmental data and develop a set of recommended projects to reduce their ecological footprint and achieve their sustainability goals.
Wendy conducted background research and collected data on waste generated, the company’s carbon footprint, and water, electricity and chemical use. She then identified the rate of consumption associated with each operation and activity.
Wendy’s recommendations:
- Insulate pipes and install a boiler stack gas economizer to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
- Recycle single-use buckets or buy a washer to clean and reuse them, reducing waste in the long run.
- Use UV sanitation to reduce the use of chemicals, switch to more eco- friendly ingredients, consolidate products for multiple uses, and use antimicrobial products that meet the EPA's “Design for Environment” standards.
Estimated Annual Reductions
Wendy's recommendations could have the following annual impacts:
155,000 tons
Reduced Food Waste
$7,500,000 gallons
Water
$190,000
Savings
800 metric tons
Reduced CO2 Emissions