General Motors Adds 11 More “Zero Waste” Facilities

General Motors’ “Quest for Zero Landfill” began back in 2005 when Michigan’s Flint Engine Operations facility became GM’s first to earn landfill-free status. Today, 122 plants enjoy “Zero Waste” status, including 11 just added to the list.

“Every landfill-free achievement – from our first in 2005 to these 11 we’re announcing today—is made possible because different departments, companies and organizations come together to achieve a common goal,” said GM’s global manager of waste reduction, John Bradburn. “It takes a lot of collaboration and ingenuity to help separate and recycle challenging materials.

These are the 11 Zero Waste additions:

  • CAMI Assembly (Canada)
  • Colmotores Assembly (Colombia)
  • Joinville Engine (Brazil)
  • Zaragoza Assembly (Spain)
  • Zaragoza Stamping (Spain)
  • Grand Rapids Operations (Michigan)
  • Burton Warehouse and Distribution Center (Michigan)
  • GM Heritage Center (Michigan)
  • Shanghai Headquarters (China)
  • Luton Warehouse (England)
  • Fontana Warehouse and Distribution Center (California)

Moving these plants to Zero Waste status helps GM avoid more than 600,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions, plus there’s a lot of money made from recycling efforts − the CAMI Assembly in Canada made more than $7 million in revenue in 2014.

According to FastLane, all 122 of GM’s Zero Waste facilities “treat their waste as resources out of place” and use different methods to funnel them into new, proactive uses, such as turning scrap wood into mulch for wetlands, recycling grinding wheels as sandpaper, and composting wastewaster treatment sludge and organic cafeteria waste to provide nutrients for their site’s trees and plants.

“Flint Engine set the pace for the next 121 plants that would follow, and the excitement and creativity continues to grow,” added Bradburn.

Diego Rosenberg