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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 8, 2000
00-078 - 00-081
CONTACTS: Central Region & Eastern Region: Curtis Durrant,
waste-reduction and recycling specialist, (509) 456-6370
Northwest Region: George Sidles, solid-waste manager, (425) 649-7056
Southwest Region: Shelly McClure, waste-reduction and recycling
specialist, (360) 407-6398
OLYMPIA -- Three businesses and three government entities have been honored by the Department of Ecology (Ecology) for their efforts to reduce and recycle waste.
Five organizations received the 1999 Waste Reduction and Recycling Award. They are: Gentech Dentist of Vancouver; Seattle University in Seattle; North Chelan County Recycle Center and Chelan Valley Community Service Work Group; Spokane Regional Solid Waste; and the U.S. Dept of Energy in Richland, for efforts at the Hanford site.
The sixth award winner is the city of Richland's Environmental Education Program, which received a special recognition award for outstanding achievement in waste prevention, reduction and recycling.
The awards are issued each year to private industry and federal and local government agencies in Washington that make significant contributions to recycling and creative waste management.
Applicants for the awards must demonstrate they have successful, innovative programs, facilities and activities.
"It is not always easy to educate and re-educate the public about the importance of waste reduction and recycling, but these facilities have demonstrated that the results can be very gratifying - and they can save money," said Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons. "This year's award winners serve as models for making recycling and waste reduction a success."
The awards are given to the best small-business program (under 100 employees), best large-business program (more than 100 employees), best small-government program (population under 75,000), best large-government program (population more than 75,000), and best federal facility. A special recognition award is given for achievement in areas related to waste-prevention, reduction and recycling that are not addressed by the other categories.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is regional information on the winning companies.)
Central Region:
North Chelan Recycling Center and the Chelan Valley Community Service Work Group: The North Chelan County Recycling Center and the Chelan Valley Community Services Work Group serve a population of fewer than 10,000 people in an area 60 miles wide. The recycling center operates drop boxes in three small towns, a buy-back recycling center, and curbside collection for businesses, and also conducts an aggressive public-education program. Since 1989, the center has recycled more than 20 million pounds of materials. The work group focuses on community education and providing recycling opportunities to rural areas.
U.S. Department of Energy: The U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford site has established goals to encourage pollution prevention and resource conservation. One goal was to recycle at least 33 percent of the material that would otherwise be disposed as solid waste. The facility met and exceeded this goal, reaching a 63 percent diversion rate and recycling 2.6 million pounds in 1999.
City of Richland: Five years ago, Richland established an environmental education program that has reached thousands of citizens. The program encourages and promotes solid-waste reduction, re-use, recycling, composting, proper disposal of household hazardous wastes, and basic environmental awareness. One example is the Tri-Cities Earth Day, organized by the city, that involves citizens in activities such as beautification projects, hikes and tours.
Eastern Region:
Spokane Regional Solid Waste System: With its exceptional waste-reduction and recycling programs, the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System has achieved a recycling rate above 40 percent for the last several years. In 1999, due to its aggressive business-waste audit program, 5,244 tons of commercial waste were diverted from landfills.
Northwest Region:
Seattle University: Seattle University's solid-waste management activities include waste reduction, recycling and re-use; buying recycled-content products; and community education and outreach. In 1999, it was able to divert 623 tons of recyclable material from landfills, saving more than $330,000. The university actively involves students in taking action to lessen the campus' effect on the environment.
Southwest Region:
The GenTech Dentist Office of Vancouver, Wash., has made an impressive commitment, with systems and policies that greatly reduce its effect on the environment. Using recent technological advances in water filtration, the office has been able to reduce its water consumption. It also has reduced its paper usage by 90 percent, eliminated the release of hazardous sludge into the municipal water supply, and switched to non-polluting digital x-rays.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
