Waste and Recycling

We are committed to reducing waste and effectively managing the waste we generate. Opportunities to recycle and reuse are pursued actively.

We focus on preventing pollution and minimizing the generation of hazardous and non-hazardous waste as much as possible. We reached our goal of reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) releases by 40 percent by 2008 — on an absolute basis from the baseline year of 2002. Success was achieved a year ahead of schedule.

Soil and groundwater contamination at industrial sites can endanger the environment, as well as the health and safety of workers and nearby residents. Pfizer works to prevent such contamination through:

• Reducing our overall waste footprint
• Strong waste management practices
• Robust due diligence to evaluate potential liabilities

When contamination is found, we mitigate any immediate risk, assess the potential impact and take remediation steps.

Pfizer and Superfund Sites

Like many companies, our past use of certain waste disposal contractors has exposed us to liabilities related to soil and groundwater contamination at some historic waste disposal locations, though such disposal was legal at the time. Even though not directly responsible for the contamination, Pfizer and others have been held liable in a number of cases for cleanup costs. Pfizer is an active participant at a number of U.S. "Superfund" sites to ensure appropriate cleanup reduces any environmental or health risks.

Dig Deeper

• See Pfizer's Waste and Recycling Commitments and Actions
• View Performance Highlights for Waste and Recycling
• Learn about Pfizer's Green Chemistry Program
• Learn about Pfizer's site cleanups

Greener Meeting and Eating

As part of the ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impact, our legacy Wyeth colleagues have undertaken promoting green practices at meetings and at dining facilities, encouraging colleagues to move the dial, "one cup, one bottle at a time"... Read the full story »

Using Less Packaging

Over the last five years, packaging changes on some Wyeth items have resulted in significant decreases in raw material usage. Recent Wyeth accomplishments included the elimination of inner pack trays for respiratory products, a refill package redesign for ChapStick, and entirely new packaging for multivitamins Centrum Silver and Centrum. Read the full story »

The Kalamazoo, Michigan Site Goes Green

Pfizer Kalamazoo looks for novel ways to manage solvent wastes. In 2009, the Kalamazoo site arranged for re-use of over 320,000 gallons of solvent in lieu of incineration. The solvents are used in a variety of industries... Read the full story »

Commitment to Environmental Stewardship at Former Manufacturing Plant Site

Former manufacturing sites with environmental contamination can present significant challenges to companies and communities because of the need to cleanup the site and encourage productive future use. The Environmental Engineering, Remediation & Transactions (ERT) team of Pfizer Global Engineering is responsible for managing environmental remediation at the company's inactive sites and for supporting efforts to return idle sites to productive uses that benefit those communities... Read the full story »

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