Zero waste. They said it couldn't be done, and some keep saying it, but they have to ignore the reality at any Toyota plant. Putnam County's Toyota engine transmission manufacturing plant, like all other North American Toyota facilities including headquarters, doesn't trash so much as a gum wrapper.

Brothers and sisters in the manufacturing business regard the auto giant with awe, and sometimes maybe just a little irritation. Toyota does what others insist is impossible, or at least not cost effective.

Kevin Butt, general manager and chief environmental and safety officer at Toyota's Erlanger, Ky., headquarters, respectfully disagrees. Not only does the company achieve its zero waste goal, it profits from the program.

"In some cases, we spend money, and in some cases we earn by sale of some of our recyclable material such as metals. We've made anywhere from a million to almost $2 million in North American operations by achieving zero landfill. Some plants spend more than they make, based on regional demand for the type of waste they generate. It's a volatile market, but overall," Butt says, "there's a net gain."

Toyota's policy evolved from a 1969 environmental initiative. "Our guiding principles have always led us in the direction of improving environmental performance," Butt says. "As we considered our use of energy, water and raw materials, evolution to the present policy was inevitable.

"We began looking at the amount of material we were recycling. Getting paid for it was fine, but we were paying to have some of it hauled away, so we set an internal target to reduce that waste. That forced us to closely review the design of process equipment and the use of particular raw materials that may have been more difficult to sell or even give away. Overall, it's made us a more efficient company."

Butt says it has become corporate culture. "You have to embrace the desire to -- I hesitate to use the phrase 'green up,' it's become such a cliche -- but it's a company mindset to look at details, to aspire to optimum awareness. When your environmental performance is at its peak and you're operating without any injuries, you know you've achieved optimal efficiencies. And that equates to profitability."

Graphic courtesy of Toyota Manufacturing

ToyotaÕs Putnam County plant annually recycles three tons of these tiny plastic dust caps that protect car engines in transit. TheyÕre part of 140 tons of plastic the plant donates to a disabled workersÕ organization for sale to a recycling center.

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