Did you know that the rendering industry currently accounts for roughly $10 billion in annual economic activity across the United States? While we know that rendering helps to promote food waste sustainability, reclaim clean water, and reduce our carbon footprint worldwide, rendering also supports the North American economy in more ways than one.
- Rendering Creates Jobs
The rendering industry proudly creates thousands of jobs throughout urban and rural North America each year. From production and warehousing to quality assurance and transportation, a job in rendering serves as a stable, meaningful, and growth-oriented career for many individuals throughout our communities. To explore a career in rendering for yourself or someone you know, visit our careers page!
- Reduced Landfill Space
Through the rendering process, our food waste is significantly reduced by recycling billions of pounds of fat, oil, and animal protein products each year. In turn, local municipalities spend much less on the costs associated with waste disposal, from collection and transportation to processing.
- Controlled Used Cooking Oil Disposal
More than recycled organics, the rendering industry also recycles approximately 1.6 billion pounds of used cooking oil from local restaurants and food suppliers annually. The high-volume controlled collection, handling, and recycling of used cooking oil throughout the oil rendering process significantly reduces the likelihood of costly—and environmentally destructive—improper disposal practices.
- Boosts Other Sectors
The production of rendered material supports and strengthens various sectors throughout the North American economy, including transportation due to the need to move and ship rendered material, food processing and production through the creation of rendered products including tallow, and the renewable energy industry by creating biodiesel and renewable diesel feedstocks derived from oil and fat rendering.
- Supports a Circular Economy
Finally, the rendering industry supports a sustainable and cost-effective circular economy by recycling and repurposing existing resources and animal by-products, thereby reducing our reliance on costly raw materials throughout various sectors, including agriculture and green energy.
Visit our sustainability page to learn more about the many ways that rendering strengthens our environment and economies.
