October 21, 2003 News Release King County earns top national honors from EPA for recycling County saves money and resources through recycling and environmental purchasing In 2002 King County recycled nearly 5 million pounds of material and saved more than $1.8 million dollars by buying recycled, reusing materials instead of buying new or preventing waste - accomplishments that earned a top national prize from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). King County Executive Ron Sims will honor employees who contributed to this effort at a brief ceremony tomorrow, Wednesday, October 22, 9 AM in the Executive's Conference Room, Bank of America Tower, 32nd Floor. The recycling effort is part of a directive from King County Executive Ron Sims to integrate waste reduction into all areas of county government operations. "Our participation in WasteWise helps us accomplish several very important goals: to be more efficient, to save money and to conserve natural resources," said Sims. "It is an honor to be recognized as a national leader for our efforts to recycle and reuse materials, instead of buying new." King County was honored as a WasteWise Partner of the Year by EPA for its accomplishments in recycling and environmental purchasing. More than 1,300 organizations from across the nation participate in the WasteWise program and this year 12 received a Partner of the Year Awards. This is the second year in a row King County has earned top honors in the local government category. Sims attributed the county's accomplishments to efforts of all departments to integrate waste reduction into their operations. For example, the King County Department of Transportation maintains heavy equipment containing air filters that must be changed. In 2002 the department stopped throwing the filters away, sending 200 of them to a green dry cleaner that uses a new "sonic" cleaning process that does not involve chemicals. Reusing the filters saved the county about $7,000. Integrating waste reduction into daily operations, King County surplus reissued about 3,700 pieces of office furniture instead of buying new, saving $598,000. The county also started a new online exchange for surplus equipment and furniture. King County also incorporated these best practices into new projects. The Solid Waste Division expects to save $5 million by renovating 100 solid waste trailers instead of purchasing new ones. In addition, the county relined 1,700 feet of concrete pipe on a major sewage line to avoid replacing it. Other accomplishments recognized by the award include: 50,000 pounds of electronics recycled including 1,233 computer monitors 226,400 pounds of bus tires re-treaded Nearly 75 percent of the total construction waste on the new Regional Communications and Emergency Coordination Center recycled For more information on King County's WasteWise program and to see the full 2002 report, visit the project's Web site. King County Recycling Accomplishments King County won top national honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its accomplishments to recycle and reduce waste in 2002. King County recycled 4.8 million pounds of material in 2002 including 1.6 million pounds of paper. This amount of waste reduction significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and according to EPA is equivalent to taking 995 cars off the road for a year. King County saved approximately $598,000 by reissuing about 3,700 pieces of office furniture instead of buying new. King County recycled nearly 50,000 pounds of electronics including 1,233 computer monitors. King County will save approximately $5 million by renovating 100 large solid waste trailers at transfer stations instead of buying new ones. King County's Dexter Regulator Station has a "green roof," an innovative roofing alternative using vegetation. King County retreaded an estimated 226,400 pounds of bus tires, or 40 percent of all its used bus tires. The remainder, which were too damaged to retread were chipped, mixed with wood chips and used for "hog fuel." County agencies collected more than 6,000 printer, fax and copier toner cartridges for remanufacturing and recycling and saved about $280,000 by purchasing remanufactured cartridges. More than 65 pounds of packing peanuts were collected in one building and given back to a shipping business for reuse. The County uses vegetable-based lubricants in some of its machinery instead of more toxic petroleum based oils. Almost 75 percent of the total construction waste on the new Regional Communications and Emergency Coordination Center is being recycled. Converting internal financial reports from printed to an online format will save nearly 60,000 pages of paper and $16,000. King County makes every effort to buy recycled. In 2002 total estimated savings from buying recycled was $550,000. Some of its purchases in 2002 include: Recycled paper, more than 97 percent of all King County paper purchases Re-refined oil, 80,000 gallons Re-refined anti-freeze, more than 18,500 gallons Plastic bags made from post-consumer content Related Information Household Recycling Programs News Releases

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