The Kroger Co.'s K.B. Specialty Foods broke ground on a new anaerobic wastewater treatment system at its Greensburg, Ind., facility.

The modification will turn food production byproducts into energy and will also lead to improved air quality in the area. It features a dome to capture biogas from food byproducts, and then the collected biogas will then be harnessed to generate electricity. The current wastewater treatment system in the facility is open to the air.

"This is one more step toward meeting our goal of becoming a zero waste company by 2020," says Suzanne Lindsay –Walker, Kroger's director of sustainability.

ADI Systems, the Canada-based manufacturer of the anaerobic system, says the new facility relies on a process called anaerobic digestion. Microorganisms will transform the byproducts of food production into the biogas, providing a source of renewable energy to displace fossil fuels. The electricity created will be sent to the plant's electrical grid.

K.B. Specialty Foods, which produces deli salads, cake icing and refrigerated side dishes, expects the new system to be operational next summer.