David A. Kolman, editor, Fleet Maintenance

Kolman’s Komments: Did someone say zero waste?

Jan. 18, 2016
Businesses are moving towards environmentally sustainable practices.

More and more companies, especially the larger manufacturers, are trying to not only reduce their waste, but produce no waste. The approach is to create a closed-loop system that reuses resources rather than creating waste.

One such company doing this is Daimler Trucks North America.

I had a chance to see its landfill-free “operation” at its powertrain component brand Detroit’s Redford, Mich., manufacturing facility during a visit there late last year.

Here is a breakdown of where some of the plant’s items end up:

- Plastic – Recycled to make more plastic.

- Cardboard – Recycled to make more cardboard.

- Scrap Metal – Sent to a steel mill.

- Filter media – Machine processed and used in cement manufacturing.

- Wooden pallets – Sold to pallet recycling plants, mended and reused.

- Returnable dunnage – Sent back to suppliers.

- General trash – Incinerated to create energy.

- White paper – Recycled.

- Aerosol cans – Recycled.

- Bottles and cans – Recycled.

The plant incinerates recyclable trash because when materials break down in landfills, they emit methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon, plant officials explains. Incineration also provides cheap alternative energy and saves the use of dwindling carbon-based fuels for energy.

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