Honda Motor Co. announced Wednesday that it succeeded in recycling all industrial waste from its factories in Japan by the end of July, marking the first time that a Japanese carmaker has not needed a landfill.
Honda, which operates seven factories in Japan, no longer needs to bury its industrial waste, it said.
It said the achievement comes 11/2 years earlier than planned.
Adopting a "Green Factory Concept" in April 1998, Honda has been trying to make materials more recyclable and has been promoting the reduction of material used for making vehicles and the recycling of industrial waste.
The company buried 330 tons of industrial waste in fiscal 1999, compared to 5,100 tons in fiscal 1996.
In addition, the firm incinerates combustible waste and sewage to make steam that generates thermal power.
The ashes left after incineration can be used to make cement, company officials said.
Honda disposed of 10,920 tons of waste at its four thermal recycle incinerators in fiscal 1999, they said.