Toyota Prius Plant To Be a Model "Green" Facility

oyota on Monday said it has ambitious green plans for the Japanese plant that builds the Prius hybrid. The Tsutsumi plant will be "positioned as a model sustainable plant," including housing an environmental education facility for the public.

Toyota said it plans to paint some of the Tsutsumi plant's exterior walls with "environment-improving photocatalytic paint, which breaks down airborne nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides." The automaker says the paint has the "cleansing effect of 2,000 poplar trees."

It will also grow evergreen broadleaf trees at the plant and cover the ground and walls with "NOx-absorbent vegetation." The automaker is aiming to reduce the plant's emissions by 5 percent.

It also said it will roll out innovative assembly lines at its Takaoka plant by 2009, with a resulting reduction of CO2 of 35 percent. It did not give specifics about the new line technology. But it noted that it will "gradually initiate such activities at other vehicle and component plants both in Japan and overseas."