Milo’s was founded as a restaurant in 1946 by Milo and Bea Carlton after Milo returned from serving our country in World War II. Milo’s philosophy was simple: use high quality, natural ingredients, listen to your customers, and never sacrifice taste. More than seventy-five years later, as a leading tea lemonade beverage manufacturer, Milo’s is still a family-owned, certified women-owned business with corporate headquarters in Bessemer, Alabama.
Milo’s is building systems and empowering associates to create lasting impact on People, Planet, and Profit. We keep the story simple by focusing on three components: Pathways and Prosperity for All, Protecting our Planet, and Purposeful Partnerships.
Zero Waste is one of the core aspects of our “Protecting our Planet” pillar and is what kicked-off Milo’s sustainability journey. Milo’s was the second company in Alabama and the first in Oklahoma to receive the Platinum Certified Zero Waste Manufacturer designation – through these designations we can divert over 98% of our wastes company-wide.
Our Owasso, OK facility opened in 2020, the same year our Bessemer, AL facility achieved Platinum Zero Waste (Link to AL profile here). This was an extra sweet opportunity to open our Tulsa site with Zero Waste operations and partnerships from the start.
A strong cornerstone of our waste diversion rate is our ability to compost 100% of our spent tea leaves from operations through local partnerships with industrial composters. This accounts for more than 20% of our waste by weight. In Tulsa, Milo’s partners with GEM Dirt to compost and process our tea leaf waste. GEM Dirt is a local business that is committed to environmentally positive land practices. This makes them a perfect partner for our Zero Waste program, helping us Re-Earth over 3,500 tons of tea leaf in Tulsa since the plant opened!
Milo’s will continue to prioritize diversion to reduce negative environmental impact to land, air, and water and is committed to certifying future manufacturing facilities through TRUE to emphasize our efforts towards Protecting our Planet.
Read about the Milo's Tea Company TRUE-certified Alabama facility.