In terms of the use of materials at the plant, Bridgestone successfully reduced employee use of paper towels by 90%, while in its production process, it decreased the use of plastic by 5%.
In 2016, operational improvements were made at the plant, increasing the amount of waste sent for recycling or other methods of elimination. Nearly 84% of non-recoverable materials were sent for recycling, co-processing and composting, among others.
Bridgestone has implemented measures to optimize the use of natural resources within the production process. In 2016, in addition to optimizing the use of recycled water, the company implemented a program to identify and fix leaks. Despite there being no reductions in water use as the result of increased production, measures like these help the company to more efficiently use resources and generate savings in the future.
In 2016, Bridgestone Costa Rica was presented with an award from AMCHAM (Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce) for its biomass boiler, which was installed in September 2014, replacing the use of fossil fuels with wood pellets.
These pellets are a solid biofuel manufactured from wood particles that, given their consistency and characteristics, make the boiler and the combustion process more effective than using other forms of wood as a fuel. The boiler has helped the company to reduce emissions and mitigate its environmental impact.
