On April 29, HSG, a provider of auto glass claim management solutions, partnered with Esurance to begin planting 8,000 trees in Springfield, Ohio. The goal of the “Save a Windshield, Plant a Tree” Arbor Day event was to raise awareness of the ample resources associated with windshield replacement in damaged vehicles.

Typically celebrated on the last Friday of every April, Arbor Day has served as a public reminder to plant trees for the past 139 years. This particular event was intended to encourage the conservation of precious resources and materials. Another goal of the endeavor was to remind auto collision/repair professionals that replacing entire windshields makes sense in some (but not all) cases. For instance, if the damage measures smaller than the size of a dollar bill, then repair may be a smarter choice than replacement of the entire apparatus. Using auto glass responsibly, with safety and proper repair and installation techniques as foremost concerns, can therefore lower claims costs for P&C insurers while helping policyholders and claimants get back on the road as soon as possible.

“Far too many auto windshields end up in landfills,” said Paul Gross, CEO of HSG, in a press release. “The shatter-resistant membrane makes it impossible to recycle the glass, and therefore it ends up in a landfill, where it does not biodegrade for thousands of years due to its chemical makeup.”