Like many other motor majors, GM too has plunged into the zero landfill waste category. Meaning that it would no longer dump what it doesn’t need but reuse, recycle or convert the waste from its production operations into energy. Its transmission plant in White Marsh, Md. is the 8th such plant and two more are in the pipeline.
In the past companies like Ford, Toyota have also come forward and addressed this issue whereby appropriate steps have been taken to ensure no waste is sent into the landfills. Waste being such an issue that companies today cannot just ignore. Reducing it, recycling and then using it; the result is a decrease in scrap and processing costs.
But companies have always been putting the issue away until extremely necessary. It was acute shortage of materials during the 1973 oil crisis that led Toyota to deal with the issue. The challenge has always remained to reduce massive waste to zero.
Its not that only motor industry has taken the initiative, companies like Apple, Dell and Hp have also come forward with concepts like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
With companies making an effort at their end it becomes the responsibility of each one of us to ensure that we work towards a greener planet.
Via: Green Biz
