Recycled Milk Jugs Become “Eek-O-Friendly” Skeletons for Underprivileged Kids

From achieving more than 100 landfill-free facilities to providing the blueprint to achieve zero waste, GM is continually reducing its environmental impact. Our company is committed to reducing waste; as are our workers, who continue to find innovative ways to do their part. And just in time for Halloween, too.

Every month, different groups within GM take turns hosting an event for children in the Lighthouse of Oakland County’s PATH program, a charity which GM has been involved with for more than two decades. PATH provides homeless women and their children with transitional housing and other support services.

When GM’s Real Estate and Facilities team started to plan its October Halloween-themed party, Robin Richey, a senior environmental engineer, had an idea to provide decorations for the party while at the same time encouraging her GM colleagues to recycle.

Using plastic milk jugs and her engineering mindset, Richey created life-size skeletons made entirely of recycled materials donated from her fellow GM employees. Each skeleton required nine to 10 milk cartons, so the project’s success relied on the RE&F team’s recycling efforts.

“It seemed like every time I returned to my desk, a new pile of milk cartons had appeared,” Richey said.

Fifty hours and approximately 130 milk cartons later, 14 skeletons sat in Richey’s living room, ready to be transported to the Pontiac Community House on Oct. 20 to bring a smile to the children. When the Halloween party ended, the skeletons were given away to the families, to be reused again in the years to come.

At General Motors, we remain dedicated to creative recycling….it’s practically in our bones.