By Thomas Miner

May 12, 2010 – General Motors announced this week that sixty-two of their vehicle manufacturing plants have achieved “zero-landfill” status through the recycling and reuse of all plant waste, bringing the automotive giant’s total global manufacturing facilities which send no production waste to landfills to 43%.

Some of the materials recycled at General Motor’s zero landfill sites this year will include 650,000 tons of scrap metal, 16,600 tons of wood, 21,600 tons of cardboard, and 3,600 tons of plastic. These activities will prevent more than 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere, and using recycled materials as inputs are helping the company to reduce energy use and manufacturing costs.

One of the main concerns about these statistics is that the company could do practically anything with their waste to divert it from the landfill, including burning and other activities which may actually do more damage to the environment. GM reports that over 97% of waste is actually recycled or reused, and less than 3% is utilized in waste-to-fuel facilities.

The company announced the goal of converting half of its global facilities into landfill free operations by the end of this year, and is 87% of the way to meeting this goal. They are currently operating 27 landfill-free facilities in North America, 21 facilities in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, and 14 facilities in Europe.