GM’s Ingersoll, Ont., assembly plant goes landfill-free
by Canadian Manufacturing Staff
CAMI plant one of 11 new GM facilities to go landfill-free; joins roster of 122 manufacturing and non-manufacturing sites to do so
GM’s CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont. PHOTO GM
OSHAWA, Ont.—Another 11 General Motors Co. (GM) facilities around the globe, including the automaker’s assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., have achieved landfill-free status.
The 11 new facilities, including the CAMI plant near London, Ont., bring GM’s total to 122 landfill-free manufacturing and non-manufacturing facilities in North and South America, Asia and Europe.
The designation indicates the facilities recycle, reuse or convert to energy all waste from daily operations.
“Our landfill-free movement is part of our culture of continuous improvement embraced by teams globally,” GM’s executive vice-president of global manufacturing, Jim DeLuca, said in a release.
“Not only does it make our operations more efficient and help conserve vital resources, but we’re able to reinvest the money we get from recycling into future vehicles for our customers.”
With the 11 additional facilities, GM said it now avoids more than 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.
“Our ultimate goal is not to generate any waste at all,” said John Bradburn, global manager of waste reduction with the automaker.
“Until then, we do everything we can to ensure it doesn’t end up in the ground. From connecting our suppliers on special recycling projects to reusing packaging, we apply lessons learned across all of our operations to broaden the positive impact.”
At the CAMI plant, home to the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers, scrap wood is turned into mulch for its nearby wetlands.
The facility joins GM’s powertrain facility in St. Catharines, Ont., as landfill-free in Canada.
The powertrain plant has been landfill-free since 2008.
“CAMI is focused on supporting our community and our customers and we all benefit from ongoing energy, water and waste reduction,” said Les Bogar, plant manager at CAMI. “All of CAMI’s employees, suppliers and partners worked together to develop innovative solutions to help the plant achieve landfill-free status.”
GM said its goal is to have 125 landfill-free sites globally by 2020.
Lat month, Ford Motor Co. announced its assembly plant in Oakville, Ont., earned a landfill-free status, making it the automaker’s first assembly plant in North America to achieve the designation.
