In a significant tribute to its environmental efforts, 10 of Honda’s manufacturing plants in North America have now achieved zero waste to landfill status – while the remaining four are functioning at “virtually zero” waste to landfill.
The Japanese carmaker made zero waste to landfill one of the goals in its “Green Factory” initiative in North America and in 2001 its Honda Manufacturing ofAlabamaplant became the first zero waste to landfill auto plant inNorth Americaat the outset of its production. It was followed in 2008 by Honda Manufacturing ofIndiana, inGreensburg.
The achievements are all the more remarkable because at the end of fiscal year 2001, Honda auto plants throughoutNorth Americaaveraged 62.8pounds of industrial waste to landfills for every automobile produced. However, this has now been reduced to an estimated 1.8pounds per automobile in the current fiscal year 2012.
As part of its efforts, Honda associates went “dumpster diving,” looking at what constituted its waste materials from all production activities and on the basis of these findings and subsequent investigations, it was able to identify and implement hundreds of waste reduction and waste recycling initiatives. As a result, over the past 10 years, it is estimated the company has prevented an estimated 4.4billion pounds of waste material from being sent to landfills.
Among its initiatives have been: engine plants reusing virtually all leftover sand from aluminium and ferrous metal casting operations; no steel scrap; the establishment of a closed-loop system for recycling aluminium scrap from the machine trimming process; a recycling bin for bolts; all four plants in Ohio completed an initiative to eliminate more than 500 metric tons of cafeteria waste produced annually.
Honda is now working with the Environmental Protection Agency on alternative means of disposal for: paper, plastic and food waste from associate break rooms and cafeterias; and a by-product of the paint pre-treatment process for aluminium body panels.
