Eliminating waste sent to the landfill saves both money and the planet. Many GM plants " ... no longer send any production waste to landfills."
43 % send no production waste to landfills !
LINK to see plants by type and location.
The numbers are huge ... " ... 2 million tons ... will be recycled or reused ...additional 45,000 tons ... converted to energy at waste-to-energy facilities...."
Via: General Motors LINK
General Motors demonstrates sustainability leadership in its manufacturing facilities by recycling and eliminating its waste streams. …
… “More than 2 million tons of waste materials will be recycled or reused at GM plants worldwide this year. An additional 45,000 tons will be converted to energy at waste-to-energy facilities.
Although zero landfill sites recycle or reuse their waste in some way, other GM facilities also attain high levels of recycling. Overall, GM’s global facilities currently recycle more than 90 percent of the waste they generate.
Waste elimination and recycling at GM’s zero landfill plants and other facilities will prevent more than 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emission reductions from entering the atmosphere this year. ” …
Via GM: Plants eliminate waste to landfills.
leaders in sustainability and will leverage this integration team to identify projects, measure reductions, engage its supply base, and drive proper procedures into each GHG reduction benefit. ...
... "Selection -- Walmart will focus on the product categories with the highest embedded carbon. This is defined as the amount of life cycle GHG emissions per unit multiplied by the amount the company sells. To find the embedded carbon, the ASC reviewed the GHG emissions associated with all Walmart product categories. This approach ensures the project team focuses on the categories that have the greatest opportunity for reductions. Reductions can come from any part of a product’s life cycle." ...Via Walmart Stores: http://bit.ly/aBy2pX
Walmart has received constructive feedback from its colaboraters, such as The Environmental Defense Fund. For example, EDF reviewed the WalMart’s Sustainability Report and made these comments: We’d also like to see Wal-Mart present more data that allows readers to verify the information presented. For example, the limited data presented on improvement to fuel efficiency in the truck fleet – an area where we know that WalMart has made progress – leave room for confusion. http://bit.ly/dfdj3s
Continue reading "Walmart green supply chain opportunity wiil target carbon intense products" »
There is a new "movement" underway in the recycling space - call it extreme recycling ... "... a new movement afoot that is raising the bar on what’s good enough. ... story from the New York Times [Oct. 19, 20009 - Nudging Recycling From Less Waste to None] explains what’s being called the “zero waste” movement ... not only to dispose responsibly of the waste that commercial enterprises create BUT ALSO to drastically reduce the amount of waste... create less garbage, period."
" ... Honda now recycles so much of the trash created at eight of its North American facilities that it has gotten rid of the trash dumpsters at those sites. At Yellowstone National Park, concessions now use cups and utensils that dissolve when heated. ..."
Via: Smart Planet LINK