Subaru practises solid program to reduce waste

Subaru factory sets new standards for going green and reduces costs in the process

Sep 27, 2008

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Special to the Star

LAFAYETTE, IND.–Beyond the vehicle itself, automakers are "greening" the factories where they're produced.

Whether to save money, meet standards or present a more responsible face to the community, auto manufacturers are reducing their energy requirements and the amount of waste generated.

The local Subaru plant, which builds the Legacy, Outback and Tribeca, and the Camry for Toyota, became zero waste-to-landfill in May 2004. It was the first automotive plant in the U.S. to be ISO 14001 certified for its environmental management systems, and has a wildlife sanctuary on its grounds.

While not unique – all automakers have various environmentally-conscious operations – Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA) goes beyond reduce, reuse and recycle at a plant that sits amid some of the country's richest farmland.

"It all starts at the bottom," says Denise Coogan, manager of safety and environmental compliance. "The sorting and separating is very important. We originally got started by dumpster diving – I'd get into a suit and go into the dumpster – and looking at what was being thrown out each day."

The bulk of waste is steel – the plant stamps body panels from giant rolls – with parts packaging close behind.

SIA solved part of that by sending much of the packaging back to its suppliers for reuse, including Styrofoam used to protect engine parts that is returned to Japan.

"People think it's ridiculous to ship that back empty all the way to Japan, but it's cheaper than recycling it and then buying new," Coogan says. "Even with the shipping costs, it saves about $1.5 million each year. Each piece goes back and forth five to seven times."

Once the assembly-line workers empty each Styrofoam case, they stack it back in the original shipping container, ready for return. Some 930 tons of Styrofoam went overseas in 2007.

A large area at the back of the plant is the domain of Allegiant Global, a company that recycles anything that can't be returned, with the exception of metal, which SIA handles itself.

Allegiant pays its own costs, including employees on-site; its revenue comes from selling waste to recyclers, which Coogan says is an incentive to find a market rather than pay tipping fees to discard it. A huge machine bales cardboard, although SIA plans to have none in the plant within the next few years, opting instead for strictly returnable containers. Wooden pallets that can't be reused are turned into mulch; plastic fascias that don't meet quality control are ground up and reformed into new ones. Rejected auto parts are donated to a local charity that employs disabled workers to recycle them.

On a scale this large, when you're producing more than 150,000 vehicles a year, even seemingly inconsequential items add up: welding slag is sent to Spain, where copper is removed, while the tiny metal stems from pop rivets are recycled. Since the plant's largest single electrical use is producing compressed air, even tightening joints in the air lines makes a difference.

But along with recycling, Coogan is focused on reducing waste.

"In 2000, we had 459 lbs. (208 kg) of waste per unit," she says. "That includes everything, even bathroom waste; 190 lbs (86 kg) of that was steel. Last year, it was down to 259 lbs. (117 kg). We even measure how much we pick up from each trash can."

By way of comparison, the average Canadian household produces 383 kg of solid waste each year.

Employees work with the program. Coogan says there's peer pressure to put bottles and newspapers into the right bins (old paint pigment barrels in a new role). "Next year, the cafeteria waste will be composted," she says. "This is now the most pressing issue, and just about all that's left."

Outside the noisy assembly plant, a 4.5-km test track surrounds a quiet sanctuary that's home to great blue herons, bald eagles, whitetail deer, Canada geese, and a family of beavers, responsible for a dredging operation to restore water flow to retention ponds blocked by dams.

Other manufacturers have studied the plant for their own operations, including Procter & Gamble and Frito-Lay. SIA has recycling programs in local schools, including nearby Purdue University.

"We have an outreach program to the students in schools," Coogan says. "They come to SIA on Earth Day to give their presentations. On the last one, one student said, `There are really four Rs, and the last one is responsibility.'"

Toronto Star