Is it possible to be landfill-free?
Some big companies claim it is: General Motors, Anheuser-Busch, and Subaru have all pledged to make their plants landfill-free. How?
As the video shows, all of the materials that the plants generate are reused or recycled in some capacity. Aluminum chips, plastic trays, used gloves...each product is somehow reused and kept off the landfill.
In order to do this, the companies partner with other companies who are willing to take on some of the used products. For instance, GM has partnered with Goodwill Industries, which takes obsolete containers, breaks them down, separates the parts, and then sells them to recycling and compounding companies, where they are turned back into usable parts for the automotive industry.
Even cooler? This process is creating lots of jobs for people with disabilities.
GM claim that their plant eliminates nearly 8,000 tons of plant waste per year, and it aims to make half of its major operations landfill-free by 2010.
Going "landfill-free" is a lofty goal, and one that more major companies should adopt. Amazingly, though, after watching this video, you almost forget what General Motors manufacturers in the first place.
Oh, right: gas-guzzling, emissions-spewing vehicles.














Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-18-2008 @ 5:40PM
Kamal said...
Too bad they don't put the same effort in building and making available efficient/alternative fuel cars.
Reply
4-19-2008 @ 3:47PM
tac said...
wonder if all the trash the employees generate is also "landfill-free"
Reply
4-21-2008 @ 5:59AM
passerby said...
Please don't include videos that auto-play upon loading; they are incredibly obnoxious!
Reply