May 31, 2006—General Motors has announced that its Tonawanda Engine Plant, reportedly the world’s largest engine manufacturing facility and a producer of E85 FlexFuel engines, has achieved landfill-free status in its manufacturing operations by recycling, reducing waste generation, and converting waste to energy.
According to GM, more than 95 percent of the waste materials from the plant’s manufacturing operations (23,233 tons annually) are recycled and nearly 5 percent (or 1,060 tons annually) are converted to energy at waste-to-energy facilities.
The plant is the second GM plant in the US, and one of a very few automotive plants in the world to reach this achievement, says the company. The GM Flint Engine South Plant in Flint, MI, was the first GM plant to achieve zero-landfill status in its manufacturing operations in March 2005.
The 1,060 tons of plant waste used to produce energy are equivalent to the use of 502 tons of coal in a utility boiler to produce electricity—enough to provide electricity for over 250 homes for a year. Tonawanda’s commitment to energy conservation, part of a GM global strategy, resulted in the plant receiving the 2005 Energy Star Performer Award from General Motors. The plant reduced its energy use by more than 30 percent since 2000.
