May 31, 2019—Ford is trying to reduce its carbon footprint by recycling plastic bottles and using them to make vehicle parts, according to a report from CNBC.
The automaker uses an average of 300 recycled bottles per vehicle to make the underbody shields for all of their cars and SUVs as well as the wheel liners on F-Series trucks. The bottles are shredded into small pieces and sold to suppliers that turn them into fiber used to make sheets of plastic. Ford then uses these sheets to make the underbody cover for its vehicles.
According to the report, Ford said plastic bottles are ideal for automotive parts because they are lightweight, which improves the aerodynamics of the car.
Ford has used recycled plastic as far back as the 1990s.
