Goodrich is putting the small percentage of carbon discs that it cannot refurbish at its Pueblo, Colo., wheels and brakes facility to another "green" use. In the last 12 months, it recycled 208 tons of carbon discs working with a local partner. The Pueblo facility received the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environmental Leadership Program's top environmental award recently for its efforts.

Goodrich has been involved in the recycling program with the Pueblo-based Evraz/Rocky Mountain Steel Mill for about 18 months, says a Goodrich spokeswoman, who adds that perfecting the process took about a year.

Steel manufacturers add carbon during the melting process to give the end product hardness and strength. To use the unrefurbishable carbon discs, Goodrich and Evraz/RMSM spent about a year researching the best way to add the full discs to the steel mix, the spokeswoman says. While developing the process, Goodrich continued to accumulate the scrap discs rather than discarding them.

In the early stages of the project, the full carbon discs were not getting totally consumed into the steel mix, due to their size and density. First, the two companies considered cutting or crushing the discs, but the Goodrich spokeswoman explains that this introduced new environmental and safety concerns. Finally, the companies made changes to the heating profile of the steel process that made it possible to use the full discs.

The more than 200 tons of steel produced via this process in the last 12 months and the steel that will continue to be produced become the property of Evraz/RMSM, says the Goodrich spokeswoman, adding that Goodrich benefits by avoiding disposal costs and enhancing its environmental stewardship. She says that while the majority of material returned to Goodrich can be refurbished, it has not come across any scrap discs that can't be recycled.

Photo credit: Goodrich