Infineon Raceway recycles 267 tons

Infineon Raceway has reaffirmed its position as an industry leader in recycling, collecting more than 58 tons of materials during the 2011 Big O Tires Racing Season.

The raceway partnered with the Conservation Corps North Bay to collect 116,881 pounds of materials during the 2011 season, which included the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, IZOD IndyCar® Series and AMA Pro Road Racing event weekends. The raceway has collected more than 267 tons of materials (534,815 pounds) since the inception of its recycling program in 2004.

“One of the most obvious and effective steps we can take in maintaining a sustainable business operation is to ensure the tremendous volumes of packaging and other materials that come through this facility find their way into the recycling stream," said Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon Raceway. “We don’t get 100-percent, but that’s our goal and we’re pushing hard."

Below is a breakdown of the recycling totals from 2011:

· Aluminum: 560 pounds

· Cardboard: 48,720 pounds

· CRV (glass, aluminum, plastic beverage containers): 21,961 pounds

· Metal debris: 16,820 pounds

· Mixed paper: 10,820 pounds

· Tires: 18,000 pounds

Infineon Raceway also recycles all used motor oil, used oil filters and brake and transmission fluids used at the raceway through Safety-Kleen, a leading provider of environmental services, oil re-refining and responsible cleaning solutions, which resides year-round at the Sonoma Valley facility.

Infineon Raceway’s recycling efforts are part of a larger Accelerating Sustainable Performance program, which was officially launched in November, 2010, through a partnership with Panasonic Corporation of North America. The partnership included a solar installation which provides for 41-percent of the raceway's overall energy use, as well as a dual-sided, solar-powered LED board on Highway 37 outside the raceway.

The facility will also feature clean-racing technologies on the racetrack at some of its major events in 2012, including the West Coast Moto Jam, May 5-6. For the third consecutive year, the weekend will feature the TTXGP U.S. Championships, which showcases the best in electric motorcycle racing. The raceway will also host the second Accelerating Sustainable Performance Summit, a day-long forum for innovators and thought-leaders from the business, engineering and research communities to explore prospects for sustainable automotive and performance development, and performance-oriented marketing of green cars.