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GM Factory Lauded for Green Practices: Warren Plant Makes Earth-Friendly Choices

Posted on: Monday, 15 May 2006, 09:02 CDT

By John Bebow, Detroit Free Press

May 15--More than a million transmissions a year roll out of the General Motors Powertrain plant on Mound Road in Warren. But workers there also are proud of what they produce less of -- mounds of waste.

The 65-year-old, 2.1-million-square-foot factory has cut its manufacturing waste by one-third since 2000. The plant recycles more than 90% of its manufacturing by-products, from metal shavings to hydraulic oil to shipping pallets.

And engineers in the plant reach out several times a year on environmental awareness campaigns, such as helping students perform water-quality sampling in the Clinton River watershed.

That strong "enthusiasm for our environment" led Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester to give the plant a Neighborhood Environmental Partners Gold Program Award last month.

"We're really proud of this award," said Mark Fischer, 41, the transmission plant's senior environmental engineer.

For the workers inside, the little things make more and more of an environmental difference.

A brand-new line for six-speed transmissions that begins production next month includes a conveyor belt that carries away tiny aluminum shavings to a bin where they will be collected and resold at 50 cents a pound.

A system to filter oil and other chemicals used in the manufacturing process uses paper-thin filters made from plastic polymers.

The dirty filters are sent out to a subcontractor who cleans them and transforms them into new products, such as plastic lumber.

Twice each year the plant sponsors a household waste collection day for the 1,200 employees. Last fall, they filled ten 55-gallon drums with batteries, flammable liquids and other waste that normally would have gone from workers' curbs to local landfills. Instead, the waste was taken off site and incinerated.

"We live in this community, too," said Susan Kelsey, 52, GM's southeastern Michigan regional manager for environmental services, explaining why employees want to make the plant as clean as possible.

Standing next to a shipping area at the plant Thursday, Kelsey pointed to metal parts that had arrived in reusable plastic shipping containers rather than wasteful cardboard.

"That's the thing about environmental engineering," she said. "When you do it right, it isn't even obvious."

Contact JOHN BEBOW at 313-222-8851 or jbebow@freepress.com.

photo

At the General Motors Corp. Powertrain plant in Warren, transmission cases rest on plastic containers. In order to reduce waste, the plant uses the reusable plastic containers instead of cardboard. Last month, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality gave the factory a Neighborhood Environmental Partners award for its efforts. (Photos by MARY SCHROEDER/Detroit Free Press)

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Copyright (c) 2006, Detroit Free Press

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Source: Detroit Free Press

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