Bridgestone Americas Announces Anniversary, Results Of "One Team, One Planet" Spent Tire Program

Program finds valuable end use for spent tires

NASHVILLE, TN--April 11, 2013: This week, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. 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 stores and community support programs rolled out at the time of the 2012 announcement.

Since April 2012, results of the program include:

• 100 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 nonprofit 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.

"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 of 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 Corporation's environmental activities. Bridgestone's environmental mission is "To help ensure a healthy environment for current and future generations" with a focus on the company's three major objectives: Being in harmony with nature, valuing natural resources and reducing CO₂ emissions.

To learn more about Bridgestone Americas' "One Team, One Planet" Spent Tire Program, to fill out a form requesting tire recycling support for a community clean-up program or to learn more about many of the company's other environmental activities, visit One Team One Planet .

Learn more about River Network and its river restoration efforts at River Network .