Ford and Recycled Polymeric Materials (RPM) have teamed up to deliver environmentally friendly gaskets and seals made from recycled tyres and bio-renewable content such as soy.

Ford says that more 2.2 million pounds of rubber from recycled tyres has been made into seals and gaskets and more than 210,000 used tyres have been recycled. Some 150,000 pounds of soy has been used to create the materials.

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The gaskets and seals are featured on 11 2011-model-year Ford models including F-150, Escape, Mustang, Focus and Fiesta.

The gaskets and seals are derived from 25% post-consumer particulate from recycled tyres and 17%  bio-renewable content from soy.

Ford also says that the seals offer weight savings, with more than 1,675 tons of weight removed from Ford vehicles on the road.

“When it comes to finding a way to use more renewable and recyclable content in our vehicles, Ford and our suppliers are looking at every part of a vehicle,” said Dr. Cynthia Flanigan, technical leader, Research and Innovation. “As long as an application makes sense and upholds strict quality standards, we’ll look to get these sustainable materials inside our vehicles.”

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The sustainable gaskets were first introduced to Ford in 2008 and have now expanded to include 11 vehicles.

Ford Motor Company vehicles that feature the sustainable seals and gaskets include:

Ford Escape
Ford F-150
Ford F-250
Ford F-350
Ford Fiesta
Ford Flex
Ford Focus
Ford Mustang
Ford Taurus
Ford Transit Connect
Lincoln MKS

Ford says that over the past several years it has concentrated on increasing the use of recycled plastics and bio-based materials whenever possible. Examples include soy foam seat cushions, wheat straw-filled plastic, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fibre plastic for interior components.

“Our team continues to develop new technologies that reduce our environmental footprint,” said Dr. Debbie Mielewski, technical leader, Plastics. “We have already been successful in incorporating soy foam seats on all North American vehicles and are actively expanding the research front into a variety of new plastics and rubber areas.”