Tennessee Chamber Awards Volkswagen Chattanooga Outstanding Achievement In Solid Waste Management

November 9, 2017 by Volkswagen

Chattanooga, Tenn. (09 November 2017) — Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations, LLC (Volkswagen Chattanooga) received the Outstanding Achievement in Solid Waste Management award at the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry's 35th Annual Environmental & Energy Awards.

The award recognizes Volkswagen Chattanooga for its efforts in recycling waste concrete created during the expansion of the Chattanooga factory for the midsize SUV, the Volkswagen Atlas, ultimately saving the company over $800,000.

'We were faced with the possibility of creating tons and tons of waste in addition to the cost of hauling it all to a landfill,' said Anthony Lytle, construction planning specialist for Volkswagen Chattanooga. 'Once we came up with a solution that provided an opportunity to not only recycle the concrete, but also reuse the material onsite, the decision to take this path was easy.'

Throughout the midsize SUV expansion process, nearly 37,000 tons of concrete were excavated from the site, potentially creating over 18,300 cubic yards of landfill space. The Volkswagen Chattanooga construction and environmental team developed a plan to crush and reuse the waste concrete for onsite infrastructure and expansion efforts.

Waste concrete was hauled to an onsite crusher and processed into various sizes to be used throughout the facility. Seventy-five percent was used as beds for Roll Compacted Concrete (RCC) parking and roadways. The remaining concrete continues to be repurposed for gravel patrol roads, walking paths, landscaping, and erosion control.