Corporate sustainability

Environment

Proactive environmental solutions

Environmental protection is a well-established priority at U-Haul. In addition to maintaining compliance with applicable laws and regulations, our environmental team is consistently exploring ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Our continued focus on pollution prevention and waste management has driven process optimization, resulting in increased reductions in waste generation.

Want to learn more?
Read more in our Environmental, Health and Safety Policy (Adobe PDF)

Spray or roll on?

In 2007, U-Haul phased out spray coating it´s equipment and replaced it with rollers and brushes practically eliminating VOCs and CO2 emissions.

Application method (coverage %)

Pollution prevention

Through changing our packing peanuts, U-Haul has eliminated approximately 6,000,000 cu ft of Styrofoam packing material from landfills.

Reducing waste and preventing pollution at the source can lead to a higher degree of environmental protection and are cornerstones of the principles of sustainability. Pollution-prevention measures reduce subsequent costs for disposal or cleanup, with the resulting decrease in any potential environmental impact from the Company’s products, services, processes and facilities. When waste cannot be avoided, we are committed to recycling, treatment and disposal methods that minimize undesirable effects on our environment.

Packing peanuts

For more than 15 years now, U-Haul has offered a biodegradable packing peanut made primarily of corn and potato starch. The peanuts degrade/dissolve in water. By switching exclusively to biodegradable peanuts in lieu of polystyrene (Styrofoam) peanuts, U-Haul customers have been able to help keep more than 6,119,023 cu ft of Styrofoam out of landfills. That translates to more than 1,100 railroad boxcars!

Waste management

Every year, the battery industry reclaims billions of pounds of lead and plastic, and returns both to the battery-manufacturing process.

While prevention is the best practice, we are committed to managing waste that we could not avoid generating, in an environmentally friendly manner. Responsible environmental stewardship makes sense and supports our environmental policy of sustainability and minimizes environmental impact. We are committed to recycling, treatment and disposal methods that minimize undesirable effects on our environment.

Battery recycling

U-Haul returns spent lead-acid batteries to the supplier to be recycled in order to make new batteries and other products. Every year, the battery industry reclaims billions of pounds of lead and plastic, and returns both to the battery-manufacturing process. Reclaiming the lead and plastic for new batteries provides a closed-loop recycling program that keeps discarded material out of the waste stream.