A lot of emphasis in the auto industry around the world has lately been on fuel efficiency and a car’s “green” credibility. This amounts to more than just improving fuel efficiency though. The use of recycled and organic materials in automobiles both sustains our current resources, and often amounts to a substantial cost savings as well.

While touting the green credibility of a 400+ horsepower muscle car might seem silly, the little things really do start to add up. Ford has issued a release announcing that the plastic valve covers on the 5.0 liter V8 engine on the Mustang and F-150 are made from 100% recycled Nylon carpet. How is that for some green engineering?

Called EcoLon, the use of the recycled Nylon carpet saved more than 985,000 yards, or 4.1 million pounds of carpeting from landfills. To put that another way, that is enough carpeting to cover almost 154 football fields. Since every new plastic product requires a little bit of oil, the use of these recycled valve covers conserved about 430,000 gallons of oil.

These valve covers aren’t exclusive to the 5.0 liter V8 either, as they were also used on the 3.0 liter V6 in the Ford Escape and the Ford Fusion. Ford is the first to use this material in their automotive products, but it isn’t the first recycled product used in their cars. They’ve recycled denim jeans, and used say-based foam to cushion the seats. It all adds up to a car that is leaner, greener, and lighter…and why Ford is able to keep the price of the new Mustang under $30,000 (unlike the cross-town competition.)