Goodyear Honoured with Award for UK Recycling

In recent years the pendulum has begun to swing away from the ‘throw away’ mindset dominant in western cultures, with the need to become a more sustainable society an increasingly discussed topic. And tyre manufacturers have not stood aloof from such environmental issues – as part of its commitment to develop a sustainable community for the future, Goodyear Dunlop set in place a corporate directive to reduce its landfill waste to zero by December 2007. Not only has the company achieved this goal, as a result of the project’s success Severnside Recycling Company awarded Goodyear Dunlop its Personal Commitment to Recycling award.

At the end of 2006 the Goodyear Dunlop facility in Wolverhampton was given the task to re-direct 820 tonnes of waste to alternative methods of disposal. The Waste Team consisting of John Davies, John Cooper and Michael Kirk investigated the possibilities, including incineration and alternative recycling methods. It became clear that outlets for the waste existed if it could be presented in a format the recycler could readily process, thus the team began working closely with local recyclers to help reach this goal. They designed different types of containers for the collection of waste, communicated to Goodyear Dunlop employees how the waste should be segregated, identified which materials were recyclable and the methods of collection available. Partners such as Omnia Recycling came on board, offering a range of options for the waste. Omnia use a variety of waste to produce 100 per cent rot free plastic products such as fence posts and children’s playgrounds.

On 25th November 2007 the Waste Team reached their goal, with 77 per cent of waste being recycled or treated and the remainder going to incineration sites; efforts to further reduce the amount incinerated to 15 per cent by the end of 2008 are presently continuing. Severnside Recycling Company, who has been involved with the project throughout, recognised the positive impact of the work carried out at the plant, and chose to acknowledge it by presenting the Waste Team with the award for Personal Commitment to Recycling at the Severnside Annual Recycling Awards in Cardiff on the 21st February.

“Zero waste to landfill was the first step in the journey,” said John Davies, environmental officer and leader of the Goodyear Dunlop Waste Team. “There are future opportunities that we must grasp. I am so proud of what we have achieved and to be given the award makes the hard work the team and I have put in all the more worthwhile. Not only have we managed to control the waste disposal costs of the plant, we have also reached the corporate goal, putting UK manufacturing on the map and have an award to prove its success.”

“John and team have done an excellent job in achieving the goal by assessing and utilising every opportunity to recycle and reuse materials,” concluded Les Smith, QTECH manager at Goodyear Dunlop Wolverhampton. “Congratulations need to go out to the Waste Team on their dedication and to plant associates for segregating the waste and helping to achieve the company directive.”