Bridgestone Acknowledged for US Recycling Initiative

As a member of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) programme, Bridgestone’s BFS Retail & Commercial Operations, LLC (BFRC) was honoured recently at the WasteWise & NPEP Conference for recycling some 145,000 kilograms of lead from lead wheel weights in 2007.

In addition to its ongoing efforts to further reduce the impact of lead on the environment, BFRC launched a US-wide environmental initiative in January 2008 to install non-toxic steel wheel weights instead of lead weights in its customers’ vehicles. BFRC, a member of the Bridgestone Americas (BSA) family, was the first of the major chains in the automotive repair industry to make the switch to steel wheel weights in this market. All of BFRC’s approximately 2,000 US automotive service store locations are switching to more ecologically sensitive, non-toxic steel weights, replacing millions of lead wheel weights each year.

“BFRC is honoured to receive this recognition and will continue to strengthen its commitment to protecting the environment,” said Michael Welly, environmental compliance specialist for BFRC. “Lead reduction is just one of many efforts to protect and conserve the environment under our global ‘One Team, One Planet’ programme with Bridgestone Corporation, BSA’s parent company.”

In August, Firestone Complete Auto Care and Firestone Racing reiterated their commitment to improving the environment by eliminating the use of lead wheel weights. These two members of the BSA family joined the EPA to launch the agency’s new National Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative.

“By bringing together the country’s environmental leaders, the WasteWise & NPEP Conference serves as a platform for organisations to share best practices, strengthen our commitment to the environment and set goals for a greener future,” said Welly.