DETROIT -- General Motors Co. says that more than half the waste generated at its 145 plants worldwide is now “landfill free,” meaning the waste gets reused, recycled or converted into energy.
GM will make good on a self-imposed pledge made in 2008 to achieve 50 percent landfill-free status by the end of this year, the automaker said in a statement Monday.
“Every site is serious about finding ways to reduce or reuse waste,” Mike Robinson, GM's vice president of environment, energy and safety policy, said in a statement.
This year, GM has recycled or reused 2.5 million tons of waste material, enough to fill 6.8 million extended-cab pickup trucks, the company said.
At GM's assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., cardboard shipping scraps are recycled into sound-absorber material for the Buick Lacrosse sedan. Plastic caps from the plant are converted into radiator shrouds for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, which are made at the plant.
Robinson estimates GM has generated $2.5 billion in revenue from recycling since 2007. For example, metal scraps from stamping or powertrain operations are either melted for use or sold to foundries.
