Cleveland Indians lead the way in waste management initiatives

The Cleveland Indians, in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, have taken on the challenge of managing their high volume waste and are succeeding in a significant way. Since its inaugural year in 1994, Progressive Field (then Jacobs Field) has provided recycling receptacles for plastic, cardboard and aluminum. When the facility’s waste hauling contract expired in late 2007, the operations team stepped up their waste management efforts to establish the ballpark as an industry leader.

In 2008, Brad Mohr, assistant director of ballpark operations, forged new partnerships with local waste management companies and arranged for the separation of waste from recyclables on-site. To do this the team purchased two balers that create 1200-pound cubes of cardboard and 500-pound ready-for-sale cubes of plastic or aluminum. With the money they saved from these machines they were able to pay off the $30,000 cost within six months.

In three years the team was able to cut their annual waste in half, which subsequently reduced the number of trash compactor pickups, saving the team $50,000 in those three years. Mohr is confident the ballpark will continue to save at least $50,000 or more each year with its improved waste management program. Not only has this program reduced the ballpark’s environmental impact, it has also created local jobs; extra custodial staff are hired for each game to help pick up recyclables around the ballpark.

The Tellus Institute launched a report last week entitled “More Jobs, Less Pollution” at an event hosted by the Indians at Progressive Field. This event took place alongside a number of events across the country on National Recycling Day, which was November 16. The event was also a showcase of the great initiatives the team has implemented to reduce and reuse waste.

To read the full article please click here.

Half of GM’s plants are landfill-free

Seventy-six of General Motors’ 145 plants are landfill-free, surpassing their goal of having half of their plants at zero waste by the end of this year. On average, 97% of waste gets recycled or reused to make new parts, while 3% gets incinerated to produce energy. Overall plants have recycled or reused 2.5 million tons of waste this year, and GM has made over $2.5 billion from selling waste for recycling since 2007.

Cardboard is turned into sound-absorbing material for headliner in the Buick Lacrosse; plastic caps and other plastic shipping pieces are turned into radiator shrouds for the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra; and recycled tires are used to make baffles – parts under cars that direct air and water.

All GM plants track their waste and produce monthly reports on what waste they’re creating, and what they are and aren’t recycling/reusing. Plants already recycle 90% of their waste, and the challenge now is to find new uses for the last bits of waste that are still being sent to landfills.

John Bradburn, who manages waste initiatives are GM, said ideas come from employees at all levels, suppliers, component makers and beyond. All plants have environmental engineers, and some have people from Waste Management and other contract sources that work as resource managers focused on finding alternatives for waste to landfill.

GM plans to announce their new waste goals in early 2011, according to Sharon Basel from GM’s environment and energy communications department. To read the full story please click here.

Do you think the U.S. auto industry will follow suit after GM? How bold do you think GM’s waste goals will be for next year? Discuss!