Vehicle maintenance reuses, renews, recycles to save cash

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Benjamin Wilson
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Keeping the mantra "reuse, renew and recycle" in mind, the 39th Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Maintenance Flight is using innovative ideas to save the Air Force, and by extension Incirlik, thousands of dollars every month. 

Along with cutting costs, these measures save time and are environmentally-friendly. 

One example of how the vehicle maintenance flight saves money is by recycling anti-freeze. Vehicle coolant is sent to a recycler where hard metals and dirt are removed and the anti-freeze is returned to its near-original state before being put back into the vehicle. During April, the VMF recycled 19 gallons of anti-freeze which resulted in a savings of approximately $180. Dave Zinn, 39 LRS VMF superintendant, expects there to be more anti-freeze recycled during the summer months. 

Tires are also recycled through a process known as "recapping" or replacing worn tire tread with new tread rather than exchanging the whole tire. 

"It is actually an Air Force project to recap tires, but we have taken it above and beyond the Air Force's requirements," said Mr. Zinn. "We're recapping 25-30 tires a month, saving between $700 and $1,000." 

Resurrecting batteries is another measure used by the VMF to save money. 

According to Mr. Zinn, vehicle batteries can be brought back to life with a battery rejuvenator, a tool that recharges battery cells by cleaning the plates inside them to renew the cells. 

"New batteries usually cost more than $100. In the past four months the system has already paid for itself." 

Staff Sgt. Patrick Gibson, 39 LRS VMF quality assurance noncommissioned officer, was surprised to learn his squadron also recycles fuel-based products to heat their facilities. 

"I've never seen this at any other shop," he said. 

Mr. Zinn elaborated on this heating process. 

"Two 500 gallon above-ground tanks store the used lubricants for two clean-burn units inside the main shop," he said. "These units heat the building and the flight no longer has to rely on diesel fuel or electricity for heat." 

Mr. Zinn also said that recycling these petroleum-based products saves the Air Force approximately $700 - $1,000 monthly and cuts down on the man-hours previously required to pour these lubricants in 55 gallon drums and transport them to Incirlik's Defense Reutilization and Marketing Services Office. 

The 39 LRS VMF has other cost-saving ideas up its sleeve, chief among them is finding ways to use this system to heat water for the VMF's facilities and eliminate the need for diesel fuel altogether. 

"We implement all our procedures to try to save money for 'Uncle Sam' and by doing so, we streamline our processes and are able to provide better customer service," said Mr. Zinn. "We're here for the customer."