GAFFNEY, SC - Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) continues to be recognized for its contributions to improving the environment.

FCCC was honored recently by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) for the company's ongoing commitment to recycling and waste reduction.

FCCC was recognized for its 95 percent recycling rate that has resulted in keeping more than 4 million pounds of waste out of landfills and contributed to a 37 percent decrease in disposal costs. FCCC received the award during the inaugural S.C. Smart Business Recycling Program award luncheon.

"Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation is proud to be recognized by the Department of Health and Environmental Control for our dedication to improving South Carolina's environment," said Bob Harbin, president of FCCC. "FCCC is committed to sustainability and meeting our Zero Waste to Landfill goal by 2010. We look forward to continuing to preserve our environment through our recycling practices and new product technologies."

The S.C. Smart Business Recycling Program began more than two years ago in an effort to help businesses implement recycling programs or expand existing programs. The program works to encourage businesses to report recycling percentages in an effort to reach the state's goal of a 35 percent recycling rate for all municipal waste.

"We discovered a lot of businesses were doing innovative and often simple things to decrease their impact on the environment by reducing waste, and we are happy to recognize their hard work and innovation at our first awards ceremony," said Amanda St. John, media representative for the DHEC. "Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation is a great community partner, and the company's goal to reduce landfill waste to zero is extremely commendable. FCCC is doing terrific things for the environment and is working hard to meet its goals."

The FCCC facility recycles materials such as plastic, paper, aluminum, cardboard, metals, wood and nylon. The company's commitment to clean air technologies is in line with its parent company, Daimler AG's, global initiative called "Shaping Future Transportation." Launched by Daimler in November 2007 in Stuttgart, Germany, the initiative is focused on reducing category emissions pollutants, carbon dioxide and fuel consumption.

The FCCC facility practices Zero Waste to Landfill efforts, a pilot program initiated by Daimler Trucks North America. The purpose of the Zero Waste to Landfill program is to become 100 percent landfill waste-free by 2010.

In February, FCCC was accepted into the South Carolina Environmental Excellence Program (SCEEP) for its Zero Waste to Landfill efforts. SCEEP is a voluntary initiative designed to recognize and reward South Carolina facilities that have demonstrated environmental performance through pollution prevention, energy and resource conservation, and the use of an environmental management system.

The FCCC plant also was recognized by the EPA's WasteWise Program in March 2008 for its waste reduction achievement and was accepted as a WasteWise partner. WasteWise engages government, businesses and nonprofit organizations to educate others about the benefits of reducing solid waste.

Overall waste reduction statistics at FCCC include:

• The plant has been over 90 percent solid landfill waste-free since April 2008, reaching a monthly high of 97.1 percent in December, 2008, and 96.0 percent in February, 2009.

• The plant diverted 4,043,640 pounds of landfill waste in 2008 (equivalent to 491 tractor-trailer loads), resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gases by 1,684 metric tons of carbon emissions (MTCE).

• The plant reduced solid landfill waste by 62.3 percent in 2008 compared with 2007 numbers, more than double the goal for 2008.