WINDSHIELD WRAPPING: TOYOTA MAKES WASTE REDUCTION OPPORTUNITIES VISIBLE

December 23, 2014 by Toyota

December 22, 2014 -- Toyota takes waste management seriously. That's why all materials—everything used to make our vehicles, not just what ends up in the final product—and processes are evaluated to improve chemical management and waste minimization.

For instance, our manufacturing facilities changed the packing used to ship windshields, conserving energy, time and money. Reduced packaging = less weight and less waste.

Used oil from stamping machines at Toyota's Indiana plant is now reused in blanking presses, which cut coils of steel into flat sheets. The steel is washed with cedardraw oil then cut into smaller flat sheets or 'blanks.' These are stacked on a pallet, picked up by a forklift and delivered to the stamping machines for forming into vehicle components. The result: recycling will reduce the purchase of new oil about 80 percent or 7,000 gallons per year.

Toyota's North American facilities reduced, reused, recycled or composted over 95 percent of non-regulated waste in 2013, and the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council has named 32 of Toyota's North American facilities as 'Zero Waste Businesses'