Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine 2014 | Page 27

“We started by dumpster diving,” says
Denise Coogan, SIA’s Manager of Safety
and Environmental Compliance. “Literally.
We overturned every container that was
going to landfill to find out what was in
there, what we were throwing out.” As a
result of literally mucking around in their
own filth they were able to produce an
accurate inventory of their trash.

needs more precisely. As a result of this
and other measures, SIA has reduced the
amount of steel needed to build vehicles
by 46 per cent in the last 10 years. At the
same time, they have also reduced their
total waste generated by 52 per cent.”
The shipping materials used by SIA’s
parts suppliers ended up being one of
the biggest contributors to their waste

ACHIEVING NOTHING

stream. So they worked with their
suppliers to develop reusable plastic
containers for shipping. This simple idea
alone eliminated the tons of corrugated
cardboard received every year.
Someone pointed out that SIA’s wheel
supplier used brass lug nuts to hold
wheels in place during shipping. In the
past these lug nuts were simply thrown
away, creating nearly 15,000 kilograms
of waste each year. Then they were
recycled, but that process wasn’t very
cost efficient and the transportation
involved added CO2 emissions. Now
they are saved and shipped back to
the supplier to be reused as often as
possible. When they cannot be reused

According to Coogan, “The less you
use, the less you have to throw out.”
By reducing the need for many of the
materials used every day, SIA not only
saves time and money, but also decreases
the fuel needed to ship materials to
the company in the first place, and to
ship recyclables out. Steel was the first
priority. It was by far their most used
material by weight. They discovered that
much of the scrap steel produced was
left over from the end of the rolls received
from the steel mills. So they calculated
precisely just how much steel was needed
per roll and worked with their supplier
to create rolls that fit their assembly line

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anymore, then they’re recycled.
When SIA realized that 30 per cent of
its paper waste came from the cafeteria
they started using biodegradable
paper products instead. Not satisfied
with that they also installed large
composters behind the plant where
the biodegradable paper products and
food scraps are turned into nutrient-rich
fertilizer that employees bring home to
use on their yards and gardens.
Water-borne chemistry has greatly
reduced the amount of solvent that
needs to be recycled from the primer
and clear-coat process. Sent off site to a
distilling facility, used solvent is returned
to specification and shipped back. Under
a new regulation, we can claim this as
recycled even though it is not done on
our property.  
Finally, what can’t be reduced or reused
is recycled. In 2010, SIA recycled:
•  0,114 tons of scrap metal
3
•  ,632 tons of cardboard and paper
1
•  3 tons of wood.
8
This is equivalent to:
•  aving 23,700 mature trees
S
•  onserving 95,986,000 kilowatt
C
hours of electricity
•  reeing up 42,350 cubic metres
F
of landfill space
•  aving 2.4 million litres of oil
S
•  ot consuming 125,000 litres
N
of gasoline
•  onserving 36.5 million litres
C
of water.
NO LOOKING BACK
The fact that SIA managed to achieve
zero landfill status in the first place is an
impressive achievement. But maintaining
that status for more than a decade may be
the more remarkable accomplishment. It
requires a team effort from every member
of the organization. Every year, plant