First 50 Recycle-at-Work Award Celebration

For Immediate Release: Monday, April 11, 2011

Recycle-at-Work Organizations Recognized by County for Commitment to Sustainable Practices

The Washington County Board of Commissioners will recognize and celebrate the first 50 Recycle at Work award-winning organizations at the Board's April 19, 2011, Board Meeting beginning at 10 a.m. in the Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building Auditorium in Hillsboro. These first 50 organizations include manufacturing, retail, accounting, insurance, landscaping, restaurants, medical and dental, construction, engineering, architecture, and information technology businesses. Public agencies and non-profits are represented as well. All have earned the award for their innovative recycling and waste prevention practices. 

While the award winners are diverse, all of them have met basic requirements in order to qualify for the Washington County Recycle at Work award, including:

• Dedicating a staff person to overseeing the organizations' recycling and waste prevention program;
• Subscribing to Washington County's electronic business newsletter;
• Meeting twice per year with a Washington County recycling specialist;
• Having recycling available at all workstations, and collecting basic recycling items, including cardboard metal, paper, containers, glass, fluorescent lights, toner cartridges, and batteries;
• Purchasing at least three recycled-content office products, with 30 percent recycled-content paper a minimum requirement; and
• Practicing at least five waste prevention strategies.   

These first 50 awardees have also gone above and beyond office recycling and incorporated creative practices to reduce their waste. These are just a few examples of waste prevention and conservation practices in place: 

• Medical/dental/title offices have digitized client records and paperwork, greatly reducing the amount of paper they generate. 
• Nike composts tons of food waste from its employee cafeterias.
• Pacific Natural Foods composts its tea waste and converts millions of pounds of soy by-product into high-protein cattle feed.
• Epson captures waste water used in its ink-making process and re-directs it to flush toilets.
• Clean Water Services was the first wastewater treatment facility in the nation to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for its administration building. 
• ClubSport, a fitness center, uses durable dishware in its café; fryer oil is collected and donated to a local company to make bio-fuel and lighting and water fixtures have been replaced with those that use less energy and conserve water.
• Tualatin Valley Water District reuses uniforms, shoes, electronics, old meter registers, cell phones, Styrofoam and lawnmowers.

Other examples common among organizations include systems to donate unwanted items such as office supplies, computer equipment and furniture, and surplus food through the Fork it Over! program. In addition, several organizations provide bus passes for employees, use hybrid cars and make bicycles available for staff that work on large campuses for travel between buildings without driving a car.

"The award winners exemplify a commitment to our community that extends beyond the valuable services they provide to include stewardship of our natural resources," says Theresa Koppang, Washington County Solid Waste and Recycling Supervisor. "They are to be commended for their leadership and advancements in recycling and waste prevention practices."         

The county's Recycle at Work program is a partnership with Metro and the cities, with critical support provided by recycling collection companies and recycling processors. In addition to administering the Recycle at Work effort, Washington County's Solid Waste and Recycling program offers free assistance to any organization in the unincorporated areas of Washington County and the cities of Cornelius, Durham, Forest Grove, Hillsboro, King City, Sherwood, Tigard, and Tualatin. The program helps organizations meet their goals to reduce waste and recycle, as well as meet the local Business Recycling Requirements adopted by their jurisdiction.

To find out more about the Washington County Recycle at Work program, or to schedule a visit from a recycling specialist, please call (503) 846-8609 or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Organizations to be recognized at the First 50 Washington County Recycle at Work Award presentation on April 19, 2011:

American Lung Association of Oregon
Ash Creek Forest Management
Banks Trail Café
City of Cornelius
City of Hillsboro Parks Maintenance
City of Hillsboro Senior Center
City of Tigard
City of Tualatin
Clean Copy Printing
Clean Water Services
Click Commerce
ClubSport
Consumer Cellular
DeAngelo's Catering
Epson Portland, Inc.
Genentech, Inc.
GeoDesign, Inc.
GreenSpace
ID Experts
IKON Office Solutions, Inc.
In Line Commercial Construction, Inc.
Insomnia Coffee
Jones & Roth CPA
Marco Ideas Unlimited
Montes Management Consulting & Sales
Nike, Inc. World Headquarters
Norm Thompson Outfitters
New Seasons Market – Orenco Station and Raleigh Hills
Oregon Scientific
Pacific Landscape Management
Pacific Natural Foods
Portland Catering Company
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
RFM Seating
Scholls Valley Native Nursery
Security Title
SolarWorld
SOLV
Swatco Sanitary Service, Inc.
Ticor Title-Amberglen, PeterKort, Tigard
Tualatin Valley Water District
Vangelisti Kocher LLP
VWR International
Washington County
WHPacific, Inc.
Winzler & Kelly
Woodfold Manufacturing, Inc.
World of Smiles Pediatric Dentistry
WSC Insurance  

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