Sep 24, 2008

Going Green to the Extreme

Certainly many individuals and companies are adhering to the environmental three r’s -- reduce, reuse and recycle. But according to the Environmental Protection Agency, 55 percent of everyday garbage and trash still ends up in giant landfills across the U.S. Now, a new extreme form of going green, called “landfill-free,” is changing the landscape.

Companies like Anheuser-Busch, Subaru and General Motors have committed themselves to manufacturing processes that don’t require the use of traditional landfills. Instead, all the materials generated as a result of regular production operations are either recycled or reused in some way. Today, 12 of GM’s U.S. plants and 43 worldwide have achieved landfill-free status. At these plants, everything from aluminum chips to plastic trays to used gloves are recycled and reused, eliminating nearly 8,000 tons of waste a year. The environmental benefits of just one of these plants’ waste recycling efforts include the prevention of over 44,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions being released into the atmosphere and the preservation of over 3,000 mature trees annually.

Increasing and improving environmental awareness is not a one-man or even one-company job. To achieve zero-landfill goals, companies often work with recyclers like Goodwill. These partners work to remove waste, extract usable components and find homes for the resulting products -- all while creating needed jobs and a better environment. We feel like singing.