A General Motors Powertrain complex in
Work at the complex includes building high-performance engines, developing racing engines, and developing and testing for production engines. The complex is the third General Motors U.S. facility to reach this achievement. Other GM landfill-free facilities include engine plants in
"We have a commitment to reduce waste across all our operations, and our Wixom facility is one example of how we have achieved that locally," said Ray Tessier, GM group director, Environmental Services. "It has over 120 people on site and, among other activities, produces 200 engines a week – yet it doesn't send any waste from those operations to a landfill. The average American generates several pounds of waste a day that will eventually end up in a landfill. "
Items that are recycled or reused at the site this year include 270 tons of cardboard, 37 tons of scrap metal, 35 tons of wood, 13 tons of oil, 11 tons of plastic and 16 tons of paper. About 10 tons of trash is sent to an incinerator and burned to provide electricity. Waste from the site that is diverted from landfills avoids the emission of 569 tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year. In addition, the generation of waste has been greatly reduced at the site.
"As a corporate citizen in today's business environment, we feel that it is critical that GM achieve its environmental goals in terms of reducing landfill waste, said Bill Shaw, GM Powertrain, manufacturing manager, Engines. "The GM Powertrain Wixom site illustrates how our employees continue to meet the corporation's objectives in this area."
Work toward achieving this goal began in 2005 as part of the site's Environmental Management initiative. Tessier said: "The people at our Wixom site worked very hard to achieve this goal. We are proud of our employees for leading the way to reach this milestone."
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