Ford recycles 1 billion plastic bottles annually for underbody shields

The gravity of how much plastic we use on a daily basis might not register until you put it like this: with the exception of the tiny fraction of plastics that are made to be biodegradable, every plastic item you’ve ever used in your life still exists somewhere in the world. Every plastic toy you had as a kid. Every cheese wrapper. Every plastic straw, fork and spoon. Every plastic button, widget and whatsit. It’s all still out there somewhere, and what hasn’t been recycled is likely in a landfill or floating in an ocean, lake or river, where it might remain pretty much unchanged until your grandchildrens’ grandchildrens’ grandchildren are your age.

One company that has stepped up in a big way to push back against the mountains of plastic waste our world produces is Ford Motor Company. You know all those plastic water bottles you’ve drank from and tossed into the recycling bin over the years? There’s a good chance at least a few of them have made it into a Ford car, truck, van or SUV. In 2019, Ford vehicles will utilize the recycled plastic from over 1.2 BILLION plastic bottles — up to 250 bottles per vehicle produced — to build underbody shields and wheel liners for every Ford car, truck and SUV that rolls off the assembly line. Crucial for reducing road noise and helping create an aerodynamically slippery underbody to improve fuel economy, the recycled shields are just one way Ford is working to reduce, reuse and recycle.

“The underbody shield is a large part, and for a part that big, if we use solid plastic, it would likely weigh three times as much,” said Thomas Sweder, design engineer, Ford Motor Company. “We look for the most durable and highest performing materials to work with to make our parts, and in this case, we are also creating many environmental benefits.”

Due to its light weight, recycled plastic from plastic bottles is perfect for the manufacture of underbody shields, engine under shields and front and rear wheel arch liners. When the vehicle reaches the end of its useful life, these parts and pieces can then themselves be recycled, helping to prevent the need for creating new plastic pieces.

“Ford is among the leaders when it comes to using recycled materials such as this, and we do it because it makes sense technically and economically as much as it makes sense for the environment,” Sweder said. “This material meets all of our robust specifications for durability and performance.”

Those 1.2 billion bottles will never wind up in a landfill or in the ocean, where the Pacific Gyre — a mass of floating plastic refuse bigger than the land area of Mexico — has been clustered together, harming wildlife and fish. It’s one more reason McLarty Daniel Ford of Bentonville is proud of the brands we sell, and Ford’s commitment to our shared future.