Auburn-area entries among ‘Best Workplaces for Waste Prevention and Recycling’
Published 12:42 pm Friday, August 5, 2016
For the Reporter
Commitment to innovation, cutting waste and saving resources are common traits among a diverse group of 112 businesses – along with their inclusion to the King County Solid Waste Division’s 10th-annual “Best Workplaces for Waste Prevention and Recycling” list.
Several Auburn-area workplaces were recognized.
“King County businesses are doing a lot to lessen the impacts of climate change by reducing waste,” said King County Solid Waste Division Program Manager Karen May. “We want to ensure businesses get the recognition they deserve for their efforts and inspire others to take action too.”
All businesses operating in King County outside of the City of Seattle are eligible for the list. To qualify, businesses must meet five basic criteria, as well as 10 additional waste reduction and recycling criteria.
To see the complete list, visit www.kingcounty.gov/recyclemore, and click on the link.
AUBURN-AREA WORKPLACES RECOGNIZED:
Education category
Lea Hill Elementary School is a second-time addition to the Best Workplaces for Waste Prevention and Recycling list. With the help of the King County Green Schools program, students have learned to recycle paper, save water while washing their hands, compost food scraps, and use compost to grow and harvest vegetables and fruits. Even the pre-school students compost. Over the winter holidays, the students collected 1,865 pounds of holiday lights for reuse so that they wouldn’t go to the landfill. Additionally, they started a worm compost bin to manage some of the school’s food scraps.
Engineering/Manufacturing
Dynacraft, a PACCAR Company returns this year on the Honor Roll for the Best Workplaces for Waste Prevention and Recycling list. Dynacraft, a PACCAR company located in Algona, is committed to reducing waste, conserving natural resources, and protecting the environment. Dynacraft consistently demonstrates a strong environmentally conscious culture developed and maintained through training, employee awareness, and accountability. Successful practices include the use of strategically placed recycle bins and returnable shipping containers, reductions in packaging material, supplier recycling partnerships, and clearly segregated waste flow.
Norgren GT Development Corporation
Joining King County’s Best Workplaces for the second time is Norgren GT Development Corporation, a global supplier of fluid and motion control technology for the commercial vehicle industry. Their successful waste prevention and recycling efforts are done in cooperation with suppliers. For example, the special packaging that they receive parts in is collected and returned to suppliers for reuse. This saves in costs to customers, and also eliminates waste.
Government/utilities
The City of Auburn joins the Best Workplace for Waste Prevention and Recycling this year. The City encourages waste reduction at all City sponsored events by offering recycling. They offer food waste collection when the collection station can be staffed. Departments are also encouraged to provide recycling and food waste collection at meetings. The Solid Waste Outreach Team provides waste reduction, recycling, food waste reduction, backyard and worm bin composting, and proper hazardous waste disposal to residential, multifamily, and business customers through grant-funded programs.
Other
Morris’ Shadow Mountain Stables
Morris’ Shadow Mountain Stables joins the Best Workplace for Waste Prevention and Recycling for the first time this year. Some of their services include training horses, horseback riding lessons, horse schilling, horse riding, and horse parties (adults and children). They have large amounts of horse manure that they use to fertilize their fields and gardens, as well as making it available for purchase.
Real Estate/Property Management
is an apartment community on the Best Workplaces for Waste Prevention and Recycling list for the second year. The building’s recycling program is always one of the first things mentioned to prospective residents, as the community is proud of its green efforts. Staff educate residents about recycling and keep them updated on any changes or improvements made to the program.
Retail
The Safeway Distribution Center in Auburn is in their seventh year as a Best Workplace for Waste Prevention and Recycling and earns a spot on this year’s Honor Roll. The Asset Recovery Center (ARC) is responsible for reducing Safeway’s corporate carbon footprint and ensuring that recyclables are disposed of correctly. Their efforts have led to an 18.2 percent increase in compostable material, or a total of 20.4 million pounds of compost diverted from landfills. Cardboard recycling has also been increased by 2.5 percent over the last year and plastic recycling has increased by 4.7 percent.
