# Ford Waste Reduction Cuts 100 Million Pounds From Landfills

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2014/01/ford-waste-reduction/
- Published: 2014-01-11T02:05:42-05:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

**Ford waste reduction** efforts cut the amount of manufacturing waste sent to landfills
while the company set a further per-vehicle reduction target.

## Ford Targeted Waste Per Vehicle

DEARBORN, Mich., April 24, 2012 – Ford plans to further reduce the amount of waste
it sends to landfills by 10 percent per vehicle by the end of the year – building
on existing efforts that have cut global waste by 100 million pounds (44 percent)
in the last five years.

If successful, that means the company would generate about 20 pounds of waste per
vehicle on a global basis – roughly the weight of one tire.

“Reducing waste to landfills is one of our top environmental priorities and we continue
to challenge our teams to identify and implement innovative solutions,” said Andy
Hobbs, director, Ford’s Environmental Quality Office.

Ford develops such targets as part of its annual environmental business planning
process that also recently led to establishment of a global cross-functional team
spanning several divisions to review waste generation more holistically.

Between 2007 and 2011, Ford globally cut the amount of waste it sends to landfills
by 39 percent per vehicle – from 37 pounds to just under 23 pounds.

In North America, the amount of waste generated per vehicle has been cut even further–
by 47 percent.

One of the best examples of how Ford has reduced waste can be found at its plant
in Flat Rock, Mich., where the automaker uses an innovative process to eliminate
waste and transform paint solids into energy at the AutoAlliance International facility.

Ford began a pilot program in 2011 with a local energy supplier at AutoAlliance,
where paint solids – a material often sent to landfills – are sent to the energy
supplier and used as a raw material in its process to generate electricity.

“When we paint a vehicle, not all the paint ends up on the vehicle,” said Lisa Hansen,
manager, Technical Services, EQO. “We use a water wash scrubber system to capture
and collect the excess paint solids so they are not released into the environment.”

The reprocessed paint solids are then dewatered to increase their energy value and
sent to a local power plant. This is an innovative way to keep material out of the
landfill and use it as a raw material in another process. The project is being replicated
at several other Ford assembly plants.

Another example of how Ford keeps waste out of landfills can be found at its Michigan
Proving Grounds (MPG) in Romeo, Mich. Earlier this year, Ford installed its first
solar-powered compactor at the site. The nearly 4,000-acre self-contained site previously
collected trash in open-top boxes and then disposed of the trash in a landfill.

MPG and its waste management partner teamed up to take a fresh look at the operation
and came up with a winning combination of recycling measures and new solar-powered
technology that can provide the power required of trash-handling equipment.

The new energy-efficient compactor, powered by solar panels, compresses the waste
much more efficiently than the previous compactor. The compacted trash is then sent
to a waste-to-energy facility where it is converted into power. This compaction 
reduces the number of shipments and thus the fuel consumed for its transportation.
Coupled with previous [efforts to recycle](https://greenlivingguy.com/2011/09/recycle-bowl-brings-competition-to-recycling-efforts/)
all of the site’s cardboard, paper, wood and plastic, this eliminates the need to
dispose of any waste in a landfill.

**Other examples of Ford’s efforts to reduce waste can be found at numerous facilities:**

Chicago Stamping Plant, with its waste management partner, has established a Blue
Bag recycling program in which recyclable [materials](https://greenlivingguy.com/2022/03/how-building-material-companies-can-be-more-sustainable/)
are collected throughout the plant. Instead of placing these materials in the general
trash, they are placed in designated collection bins so the materials are recycled
and not sent to landfills. Recently, more than 3,000 pounds of plastic was diverted
from landfills through this program

Kentucky Truck Plant and its waste management partner have established a Single 
Stream Recycling program where recyclable materials are sent to a sorting facility
for reuse and recycling, which has reduced compacted trash sent to landfills by 
39 percent
 Ohio Assembly Plant sponsored a poster contest for local elementary 
school students. Plant personnel voted on the winning poster by placing recyclable
plastic bottles in bins labeled with the posters. The bin with the most bottles 
was the contest winner and the winning poster was used to label all the bins in 
the plant. This effort resulted in an additional 16 percent reduction in waste sent
to landfills

Ford’s waste reduction efforts are the latest example of how the company remains
committed to sustainability – from the materials used in vehicles to the plants 
in which they are built.

In December, Ford announced plans to reduce the amount of water it uses in the manufacture
of each vehicle 30 percent by 2015, compared with the amount used per vehicle in
2009.

During the week leading up to Earth Day, the company detailed how it is working 
on numerous new sustainable materials for possible use in its vehicles, including
corn, sugar beets and cane, coconuts and even shredded money.

And Ford has announced it is launching new initiatives that encourage people to 
take a more sustainable approach in life year-round with a national electrified 
vehicle education program, multi-city tour and the debut of a 10-film documentary
series with [SHFT.com](https://greenlivingguy.com/2011/11/shft-com%20empowering%20a%20green%20lifestyle%20with%20ford%20/),
an award-winning sustainability lifestyle platform.

Source of picture: co.crook.or.us – 2048 × 1360 – Search by image, County Compliance–
Cook County Code Title 8, Chapter 8.08

[⌊20140110-210409.jpg⌉⌊20140110-210409.jpg⌉[

Related: [Ford’s broader global waste-reduction strategy](https://greenlivingguy.com/2015/06/fords-global-waste-reduction-strategy-explained/).

## Manufacturing Waste Is a Systems Problem

Reducing landfill waste requires changes in paint processes, packaging, material
recovery and supplier practices. Measuring waste per vehicle also helps separate
real efficiency gains from changes in production volume.

For more Ford sustainability coverage, see our [Ford waste-reduction strategy article](https://greenlivingguy.com/2015/06/fords-global-waste-reduction-strategy-explained/).

## Conclusion

Ford’s program showed how manufacturing sustainability improves through repeated
process changes, not one headline project. Waste reduction becomes stronger when
it is measured and built into plant operations.

Source: Ford Motor Company information in the original release.

![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/df91669667126e1290c21ee0342c386e2da19d588d4d9ca6560bd82ed59a9641?
s=300&d=monsterid&r=g)

 greenlivingguy

 The Green Living Guy, Seth Leitman is an independent power producer, a green living
expert, and Editor of the McGraw-Hill, TAB Green Guru Guides. Seth is also an Author,
Radio Host, Reporter, Writer and an Environmental Consultant on green living. The
Green Living Guy writes about green living, green lighting, the green guru guides
and more. Seth's books range from: # Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Bob Brant
and Seth Leitman (2nd and 3rd editions) # Build Your Own Plug-in Hybrid Electric
Vehicle by Seth Leitman # Build Your Own Electric Motorcycle by Carl Vogel # Green
Lighting by Seth Leitman, Brian Clark Howard and Bill Brinsky # Solar Power For 
Your Home by David Findley # Renewable Energies For Your Home by Russel Gehrke #
Do-it-Yourself Home Energy Audits by David Findley # Build Your Own Small Wind Power
System by Brian Clark Howard and Kevin Shea # and more green living books to follow.

 [See Full Bio](https://greenlivingguy.com/author/greenlivingguy/) [  ](https://greenlivingguy.com/author/greenlivingguy/)