Cutting waste-to-landfill at Ford Motor Co.’s Van Dyke Transmission Plant has always been important to workers there, but they weren’t satisfied until last fall, when a small, diligent local committee played a major role in solving a nagging 10-ton problem.

The solution, which keeps 10 tons’ worth of 8-ft-long, 350-lb fabric coolant filters from being landfilled monthly, means the Van Dyke facility is Ford’s first North American zero waste-to-landfill transmission plant and now diverts a total of 15 tons of waste-from-landfill monthly.

Moreover, the solution exemplifies how Ford already is making progress on plans to reduce the amount of waste-to-landfill from its facilities worldwide, as outlined in the company’s new five-year global waste reduction strategy. Under the plan, waste-to-landfill will drop to just 13.4 pounds—or by 40 percent—per vehicle by 2016.

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