In line with Caterpillar Inc.’s global commitment to sustainable development, two Caterpillar facilities achieved zero waste to landfill in 2010. The Caterpillar Remanufacturing & Components Division United Kingdom Hose Assembly (UKHA) plant in Leicester, England, and the Caterpillar Logistics Services, Desford, England, operations have reached 100-percent recycling in their respective facilities.

“Caterpillar recognizes that providing sustainable solutions starts with having sustainable operations. That's why we've established corporate long-term goals focused on sustainability for all of our operations worldwide,” said Doug Oberhelman, Caterpillar Chairman and CEO. “One of those operational goals is to eliminate waste by reducing waste generation and reusing or recycling all that remains.”

The Cat Logistics Desford facility consists of several buildings housing both warehouse operations and administrative offices. It provides a wide range of logistics services to many different customers and distributes materials worldwide. A global operation of this magnitude generates tons of waste each year, and the facility has had a longstanding recycling program in place. In 2008, a project team set the goal of zero landfill and 100-percent of waste recycled.

Implemented in March 2009, the new processes quickly improved recycling percentages to such an extent that on October 2010, the site was able to record one full year of 100-percent recycling. The Desford facility realized a cost savings of $183,984 in the first year following implementation of the new processes.

“We’re extremely proud of the results of this project,” said Paul Morris, Cat Logistics’ site services manager. “It’s a great thing for the environment but it’s also great for our business. We’ve taken what used to be a cost and turned it into an asset.”

The UKHA facility achieved zero landfill by effectively increasing the facility’s recycling rate by an additional 25 to 30 percent from previous years. “This was a great team effort by everyone at UKHA to achieve 100-percent facility recycling in 2010,” said Pete Lee, UKHA Environmental Health and Safety Specialist.

A $15,562 cost savings has been realized by the UKHA facility since the implementation of the project in September 2009.

Caterpillar is headquartered in Peoria, Ill.