NASHVILLE, Tenn. – This week, Bridgestone Americas announced progress toward the company’s goal to eventually assure that for every tire Bridgestone Americas sells in the U.S., one spent tire (a tire that has been removed from use) will be used for a valuable purpose. The program, which falls under Bridgestone Americas’ "One Team, One Planet" environmental commitment, was launched during national Earth Day activities in Washington, D.C., in 2012, and supports the company’s vision of a waste-free future for the tire industry.
When fully implemented, the multi-faceted "One Team, One Planet " Spent Tire Program will include a program for its company-owned stores, a voluntary program for its extended network of affiliated retailers and a community support program that provides spent tire collection for public space and river or lake clean-up events. The company-owned store and community support programs rolled out at the time of the 2012 announcement.
Since April 2012, results of the program include:
* One hundred percent rate of valuable reuse of all tires received at Bridgestone Retail Operations’ more than 2,200 company-owned stores: Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Wheel Works and Expert Tire locations. The company achieved this milestone in November 2012.
* Support for more than 80 community clean-ups nationwide. The community clean-up support program includes a partnership with River Network. Bridgestone Americas will collect and recycle any spent tires collected during any River Network or other independently organized public space clean-up event – free of charge. The Portland-based non-profit group leads a national watershed protection movement that includes more than 2,000 local, state and regional grassroots organizations whose primary mission is to protect rivers and watersheds.
* Collection of nearly 25,000 tires through community clean-ups. As this initiative continues, organizers of community clean-ups can request tire recycling support by filling out the form available at www.OneTeamOnePlanet.com/Americas <http://www.oneteamoneplanet.com/Americas>.
"We are thrilled with the level of participation and success since launching the program last year," said John Sheerin, environmental director for Bridgestone Retail Operations. "Together, with our partners, company-owned stores and communities across the country, we are making progress toward our goal of finding better solutions for our products at the end of their useful lives. We’re excited about what’s been done, and for what’s ahead."
Bridgestone Americas expects to roll out the voluntary Spent Tire Program to its extended network of affiliated retailers in early summer this year, with the hope that the company’s sales partners will join Bridgestone Americas in striving toward zero waste of spent tires at their stores.
"One Team, One Planet " is the overarching program for all of Bridgestone Corp.’s environmental activities. To learn more, visit www.OneTeamOnePlanet.com/Americas.
Learn more about River Network and its river restoration efforts at www.RiverNetwork.org.
