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Green Team wins presidential award for recycling program

NWFSC's Elizabeth Van Deren accepted a 2012 GreenGov award at the White House last week, on behalf of the NWFSC’s Green Team. The Green Team received the GreenGov Good Neighbor Award for its involvement with the local community to establish a successful recycling program.

The GreenGov Awards

The GreenGov Presidential Awards celebrate extraordinary achievement in the pursuit of President Obama’s Executive Order 13514 - Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance. These awards honor Federal civilian and military personnel, agency teams, agency projects and facilities, and agency programs that exemplify President Obama’s charge to lead by example towards a clean energy economy.

The Good Neighbor Award recognizes a Federal agency team for its exemplary engagement with local or regional communities to promote one or more of the goals of Executive Order 13514. Winners in this category are actively involved in local community planning and sustainability initiatives, have established and are pursuing collaborative sustainability goals, and demonstrate success in aligning policies and practices with community partners to achieve those goals.

Montlake Laboratory’s community-based recycling program

Montlake Laboratory was selected for this award as a result of our community-focused recycling program. By partnering with local Seattle area organizations, Montlake Laboratory’s Green Team is able to divert unique waste streams from landfills and reduce the carbon footprint of Northwest Fisheries Science Center. These partnerships, based on redirecting used materials, benefit the local community. The Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s leading practices can be replicated by Federal facilities of all sizes.

The NWFSC Green Team’s recycling program tackles the following waste:

Compost - NWFSC’s food waste is converted into nutrient-rich soil by Cedar Grove, the Pacific Northwest’s leading organic recycling company. This soil, which is 100% natural, is then used by Cedar Grove customers to grow healthier flowers, trees, lawns, and edible plants.

Electronics/Appliances - NWFSC sends all its electronics (computers, monitors, printers, etc.) and appliances (freezers, refrigerators, etc.) to Total Reclaim (ISO 14001 certified company). At Total Reclaim, electronics and appliances are refurbished for reuse or de-manufactured to obtain raw materials such as plastic, glass, steel, copper and aluminum. These materials are then used in the manufacturing of new products.

Technotrash - NWFSC recycles non-property e-waste (i.e. keyboards, mice, CDs, printer cartridges, etc.) through GreenDisk. GreenDisk uses this material to create office supplies and computer accessories.

Styrofoam - Total Reclaim recycles NWFSC’s Styrofoam by melting it down into large plastic blocks. These blocks are then sold to other companies that manufacture them into plastic products such as picture frames, TV and computer cases, and office equipment.

Waders - Waders are an essential piece of equipment used by staff to conduct field research in order to further our mission. Waders typically become damaged during the conduct of field work. Instead of throwing them in to the landfill, they are recycled through Seattle-based Recycled Waders. Recycled Waders turns NWFSC’s old, leaking waders into wallets, totes and messenger bags.

Plastic Bottle Caps - Aveda retail stores accepts NWFSC’s bottle caps and recycles them into new caps for Aveda products at no charge to the Montlake Lab.

Recycling at NWFSC

	2009	2010	2011
Batteries (lbs)	2,524	1,137	1,404
Compost (lbs)	5,000	6,300	6,397
Electronics (lbs)	371	1,252	3,760
Technotrash (lbs)	371	605	380
Bulbs/Ballasts (ft)	152	96	2,483
Appliances	7	7	12
Styrofoam (cubic ft)	NA	448	640
Waders (lbs)	50	50	NA
Plastic Bottle Caps (new item in 2012)	NA	NA	NA

Montlake Laboratory selected for community-focused recycling program