Hazardous Waste > Governor's Award > 1997 Winners

Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Practices

1997 Winners

Wrap Pack Corporation

• Major producer of pear & apple wrap tissue in the US.
• Switched to soap and eliminated volatile organic compound cleaners.
• Instituted a pallet recycling program.
• Recycled almost 100% of waste paper.
• Switched from using disposable shop towels to durable felt pads.
• Use a linen service & reusable towels for other work.
• Buy vegetable-based ink in 2,000 pound, refillable tanks.
• Uses food grade mineral oil.
• Eliminated all toxic and hazardous waste.
• Each year, saves $3,800 in pallet purchases, $3,000 in landfill fees, $800 for oil recovery, at little or no cost to the company.

Fort Lewis Army Installation, Fort Lewis

• An 86,176-acre army installation; maintains vehicles and equipment, Madigan hospital, and other activities. Largest employer in Pierce County.
• Pollution Prevention Program identified & monitored 780 waste streams; saved more than $2 million in Fiscal Years 1995 and 1996.
• In 1991, Reduced the use of 18 toxic chemicals by 90% during 1991. From 1991 to 1995, dropped the generation of dangerous waste by 35%.
• Reduced electrical consumption by 11 percent through retrofits; resulting in an annual savings of $599,133.
• Developed an “Environmental Coordination Map” that delineates protected plant and wildlife habitat, cultural resource sites, and hazardous sites.

Production Plating, Inc., Mukilteo

• Coats aluminum, steel, copper, nickel, & zinc; employs between 85-95 people.
• Eliminated use of cyanide; 7,250 pounds each year.
• Converted to a non-chomated aluminum deoxidizer/desmutter; eliminated annual use of 3,825 pounds of chromated material.
• Reduced fresh water consumption and increased product quality by adding rinse tanks and improving rinse techniques.
• Reduced use of hydrochloric acid by 52,500 pounds and sulfuric acid by 5,700.
• Recycle used aluminum racks, copper wire, paper and cardboard.

Washington State Korean Dry Cleaners Assn., Seattle

• Holdsannual seminars to keep members current on environmental and hazardous substance requirements.
• Members installing no-vent systems, to avoid toxic emissions to outside air; reduces use of perchlorethylene per store by an average of 300 gallons and as much as 800 pounds of residues per year.
• Working with King County to develop a pre-treatment system that will reduce harmful chemicals in separator water.

Busch Collision, Issaquah

• Gave cash awards to raise employee awareness of value of recycled scrap.
• Bought equipment to recover CFCs, and to recycle thinner. Reduced need to buy thinner by nearly 90%.
• Reduced paint use by investing in a computerized paint-mixing system and ordering paint on a “just in time” basis.
• Developed a prototype on-site recovery and recycling system for re-using antifreeze; avoid creating 100 gallons of waste.
• Recycles all Freon 12, CFC 134, recyclable metals, cardboard, waste oil, batteries, and tires, and 75% of waste paper.

Intalco Aluminum Corporation, Ferndale

• Donated more than $100,000 in staff time and equipment use for habitat enhancement projects.
• Implemented an Environmental Management System that follows ISO standards. Selected as one of three model companies in an EPA-funded ISO Leadership project.
• Operates a secondary wet scrubber system to treat pot room emissions not captured by the primary dry scrubber system. In 1997 was one of only two such plants in the US. Primary system is 99.9% effective.
• Operates below the Maximum Achievable Control Technology limit of 1.6 pounds of fluoride/ton of aluminum produced.
• Project to increase pot life resulted in a 38% reduction in the amount of spent potliner that must be disposed of each year.
• Reduced other wastes and hazardous substances by 83% since 1991.
• Projects since 1966 have reduced water discharge by 11 million gallons per day.

Department of the Navy Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 

• Summary not available.

Honorable Mention: Broadway Dental Center, Seattle

• One of first clinics in the US to install amalgam mercury recovery equipment. Captures 99% of the amalgam from wastewater for reclamation.
• Recycles scrap amalgam, lead from x-ray film, and spent photographic fixer.
• Use environmentally-friendly products whenever possible.