Environment | Value natural resources
Waste reduction and recycling in operations

Milestone 2030 affirms Bridgestone’s intention to be even more ambitious in its ongoing global efforts to manage and reduce waste. One of the key actions informing Bridgestone’s operations is the continuous improvement of waste-related environmental performance (such as 1% improvement) year by year through a plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle. To achieve this goal, Bridgestone must accelerate the adoption of a circular economy in its business by enhancing resource productivity, material circularity, and product circularity.

Bridgestone is committed to valuing natural resources, which necessitates more efficient use of resources throughout its products’ lifecycles, from raw material procurement to disposal and recycling. Key activities include reducing waste volumes, promoting zero waste to landfill, and encouraging the development of a circular economy by reusing and recycling materials.

Bridgestone is working to reduce the volume of waste generation and sent to landfill at its production sites in each region, with the target of continuous improvement (1% reduction/year as a guide). In 2024, Bridgestone generated a total of 287 thousand tons of waste, which represents a 0.2% increase from the previous year. Of this, 4.8% (14 thousand tons) was sent to landfill, showing an improvement from the previous year.

As an example of its activities for reducing waste oil from manufacturing equipment, Bridgestone developed a recycling technology for waste oil at the Kurume (Japan) Plant and verified its effectiveness with a local college. The introduction of the technology has led to a reduction of about 90 kl of waste oil annually.

Bridgestone promotes waste reduction with ownership in each region. For example, in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, the Burgos Plant (Spain) recycles rubber waste into rubber products for agricultural and horticultural use.

As part of the enhanced drive to improve recycling rates, Bridgestone globally promotes “zero waste to landfill.” In 2010, all 29 manufacturing facilities* in Japan achieved zero waste to landfill status and continue to maintain it.

In the EMEA region, 12 plants in Spain, Italy, Poland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Turkey (BRiSA) also achieved the status of zero waste to landfill. Eleven facilities in North and South America achieved the same. At the Santo Andre Plant in Brazil, the Zero Landfill Project involves finding a solution for recycling and reusing all materials. For plastic packaging, the recycling of materials has improved with new products manufactured from waste, resulting in a reduction of 169 tons by 2024 compared to the 2022 baseline of new input raw materials. In the Asia Pacific region, five plants have achieved this status. Bridgestone will continue pursuing initiatives to reduce waste generation and promote beneficial use of waste as part of its efforts to contribute to a circular economy.

Bridgestone’s waste data is verified by LRQA Limited, a third-party institution, to ensure the accuracy and transparency of this information.

* Excluded are wastes that are subject to mandatory processing or have restricted disposal methods as specified by laws and regulations (such as PCB and mercury waste)

Independent Assurance Statement (229KB)
Environmental data

Bridgestone is committed to reducing the use of single-use plastics as one of the key actions of Milestone 2030. In 2022, it established the Bridgestone Single-Use Plastics Guidelines, incorporating “Our Mindset” and “Our Way,” to responsibly address the global issue of single-use plastics and contribute to the reduction of Bridgestone’s environmental footprint. “Our Mindset” involves “Understanding and Smart use” and “Proper management,” and “Our Way” involves “Understand,” “Act” and “Collaborate.”

The Bari Plant (Italy) launched the “6Rs of our GREEN Project” to raise awareness about single-use plastics and held an event to distribute reusable bottles on World Water Day in 2020. Bridgestone is also promoting the reduction of single-use plastics in many other locations.