Ziploc bag maker SC Johnson & Son Inc. is making news on a couple of environmental fronts these days.
The Racine, Wis.-based company says the company's Bay City, Mich., Ziploc bag making facility is now running on 100 percent wind energy for its electricity needs.
The company also said it reached a "milestone" in an effort to make recyclable Ziploc bags from curbside collection bins.
The Bay City site becomes S.C. Johnson's third location operated by wind power.
"Almost one third of S.C. Johnson's energy usage globally now comes from renewable sources," said Kelly Semrau, senior vice president of global corporate affairs, communication and strategy, in a statement.
On the recycling front, the company reported "it has reached a milestone in that effort — successfully converting flexible film that includes grocery store and Ziploc brand bags collected from curbside bins into full-size garbage bags."
The company found technology that it likes in Europe to tackle the project.
"Europe has the equipment needed to wash soiled plastic film to prepare it for reuse and recycling. After converting the rinsed plastic film into pellets, another European company melted down the pellets and converted them into garbage bags," the company said.
The company is now testing that approach in the United States, and is exploring the possibility of using the recycled plastic in items such as pallets and construction beams.
S.C. Johnson is not getting into the mass market garbage bag business, but will sell limited quantities of the recycled product hrough its online marketplace by the end of 2017.
"For decades, we have worked to lighten our environmental footprint. It's who we are. It's how we operate. And recycling Ziploc bags is just one more example," CEO Fisk Johnson said in a statement.