A major employer in Ellesmere Port is leading the way when it comes to waste reduction and recycling.
The Vauxhall car plant has joined 130 other General Motors (GM) operations which are industry-leading landfill-free.
All the 23 Vauxhall/Opel manufacturing plants in GM’s Europe region have gained 100% landfill-free status, making it the company’s first global region to achieve the accolade.
The plants now recycle, reuse or convert to energy all waste from their daily operations.
Jim DeLuca, GM executive vice president of global manufacturing, said: “Our global progress in waste reduction is possible because of employee participation, creative ideas and a strong supplier network.
“Our teams understand the positive impact of this initiative and they drive it in their facilities every day.”
The new landfill-free plants in Europe use a variety of methods from recycling courses to training videos to help them understand the environmental benefits and the business case for the approach.
Some plants designate a champion in every unit to help ensure employee participation and recognise team members driving significant progress.
All the GM landfill-free sites will continue to improve their efforts and reduce total waste whenever possible the company says.
Hiring a waste management company specialising in challenging by products is said to have been key to Ellesmere Port assembly’s success.
The partnership has given the plant a better understanding of the options for materials used in the car assembly process.
The plant is also in a trial project to wash rags used to wipe up solvent instead of using disposable rags, potentially cutting rag waste to zero.
