General Motors has committed to make half of its major global manufacturing operations landfill-free by the end of 2010.
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On an individual facility basis, more than 80 of its manufacturing operations will become landfill-free over the next 28 months – landfill-free status is reached when all production waste or rubbish is recycled or reused.
GM said 33 global operations have recently reached landfill-free status, bringing the company’s current total number of landfill-free manufacturing operations to 43.
“Through innovation and commitment, GM is accelerating our efforts to be a leader in finding solutions to the environmental issues facing our world,” said Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of global manufacturing and labour, in Warren Michigan, on Friday.
“As we develop new solutions in vehicle propulsion, GM is also making significant progress in reducing the impact our worldwide facilities have on the environment.”
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By GlobalDataAt landfill-free plants, over 96% of waste materials are recycled or reused and about 3% is converted to energy at waste-to-energy facilities. Eliminating waste to this degree is a GM manufacturing priority.
Not only does this initiative help the environment, it helps the company’s bottom line. As a result of the company’s global recycling efforts, approximately US$1bn in revenue will be generated annually from recycled metal scrap sales.
Additionally, in North America alone, GM will generate about $16m from the sale of recycled cardboard, metal, wood, oil, plastic and other materials.
Over 3m tons of waste materials will be recycled or reused at the automaker’s plants worldwide this year. An additional 50,000 tons will be converted to energy at waste-to-energy facilities.
Some of the materials recycled at zero landfill sites this year include 630,000 tons of scrap metal, 8,000 tons of wood, 7,500 tons of cardboard and 1,200 tons of plastic. These numbers will increase as additional manufacturing facilities reach zero landfill status.
Waste elimination and recycling at GM’s landfill-free plants and other facilities will prevent 3.65m metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere this year. Additionally, recycling materials to make new products reduces energy use and manufacturing costs, compared to using raw materials.
Part of the challenge in reaching landfill-free status is finding uses for recyclable materials. Waste aluminum is sent to foundries to be reused to produce engine and transmission components. Steel, alloy metals, and paper are sent to recyclers to be made into a variety of products. Used oil is reconditioned for reuse . Wood pallets are reused, rebuilt or ground into landscape chips or sent to waste-to-energy facilities. Empty drums, totes and containers are refurbished and reused. Cardboard is collected, compacted and sold for making new cardboard materials.
