their Indiana plant is a zero landfill plant. how many american car makers can say this?
from subaru of america.com:
Here's something to think about: next time you take out your trash at home for collection, you're sending more trash to landfills than the entire Subaru manufacturing plant in Lafayette, Indiana (SIA) does in a year. The Subaru plant was the first auto assembly plant to achieve zero landfill status - nothing from its manufacturing efforts goes into a landfill. It's all reused and recycled. Each year, SIA actively recycles 99.3% of excess/leftover steel, plastic, wood, paper, glass, and other materials. The remaining 0.7% is shipped to the city of Indianapolis and incinerated to help generate steam. In 2006, SIA recycled 11,411 tons of scrap steel, 1,537 tons of cardboard and paper, and 963 tons of wood. That's equal to conserving 31,040 mature trees, 31,572 cubic yards of landfill space, 711,631 gallons of oil, and 10,759,000 gallons of water.
But SIA is no stranger to being a trailblazer when it comes to being environmentally responsible.
In 1994, SIA was also the first auto assembly plant in the U.S. to be smoke free.
In 1998, SIA was the first auto assembly plant in the U.S. to be ISO 14001 Certified.
In 2002, SIA became the first auto assembly plant in the U.S. with an on-site solvent recovery system that produces dry still bottoms.
In 2003, SIA became the first U.S. automotive assembly plant to be designated a wildlife habitat. Deer, coyotes, beavers, blue herons, geese, and other animals live there in peaceful coexistence with the Subaru plant. It's our commitment to leave as small a footprint as possible, delivering real-world benefits that everyone can enjoy.
In 2004, SIA became the first U.S. manufacturing facility to reach zero landfill status.
In 2006, SIA was awarded the U.S. EPA's Gold Achievement Award as a top achiever in the agency's WasteWise program to reduce waste and improve recycling.