The company explains that when translating this commitment to an individual facility basis, more than 80 of their plants and manufacturing sites will no longer use landfills for waste products (like these transmission caps) over the next 28 months. Currently, 43 of the automaker's operations worldwide are landfill-free.
At such facilities, says GM, over 96 percent percent of waste materials are recycled or reused, and three percent are converted into usable energy at waste-to-energy facilities.
The company claims it's not only the right thing to do, but also a profitable one. Recycled metal scraps are approaching $1 billion in annual revenue for GM, and in North America alone the company will generate roughly $16 million through the sale of recycled cardboard, wood, oil, plastic, and other materials.--Colin Mathews
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