For Release: Friday, December 7, 2007
DEC Announces Annual Environmental Excellence Awards
Winners include Yogurt Plant, School District, Auto Parts Maker
An aggressive school "go green" program that features the creative use of earthworms, an energy innovation that boosted a North Country yogurt plant and some old-fashioned elbow grease applied to invasive plants in the Adirondacks were just some of the projects cited in the 2007 Environmental Excellence Awards announced today by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis.
In all, DEC named six award winners for 2007, with the winning projects coming from industry, local governments and an environmental advocacy group.
"The winners come from a wide array of sources. But what they all have in common is creativity and resourcefulness, and a desire to make a positive impact on the environment,'' Grannis said. "In their separate ways, they have made a significant contribution to the protection and stewardship of our natural resources."
This year's winners are (full project details available in attached fact sheet):
Ecovation and Breyers Yogurt Co., North Lawrence Facility (St. Lawrence County). The yogurt plant teamed up with Ecovation, an Ontario County-based company, to deploy a "bio-gas" production system to treat factory waste. Essentially, the process converts dairy waste into a methane-rich gas. The process spurred Breyers to install a new energy facility to help power the plant. Now, the plant is on track to replace about 30 percent of its annual fuel oil usage with renewable "bio-gas." In addition, it is accepting dairy byproducts from other nearby dairy plants, such as acid whey from a cheese plant and condensed lactose from another facility - reducing waste generation in the surrounding community. Breyers also joined with Clarkson University to research the energy conversion process not only to improve the plant but also to provide information to other facilities.
Delphi Thermal Systems, Lockport (Niagara County). The automobile parts and electronics supplier developed an alternative metal alloy that allowed it to do away with a chromium coating used for air conditioning evaporators. The benefits? It eliminated the generation of a hazardous-waste sludge and it allowed the company to raze an industrial wastewater-treatment plant. It also removes a significant pollution issue that had to be addressed at a vehicle's demolition. Delphi also was able to close and remove chemical and petroleum storage tanks associated with the old coating material.
Syracuse City School District. The district has implemented a ``Going Green'' agenda in 30 schools that involves recycling and tracking of materials, and education efforts. Cafeterias switched to paper bags from Styrofoam trays and, in the 2006-07 academic year, 500 tons of paper were collected and recycled. The district also employed "vermicomposting" to reduce cafeteria waste. This involves using ventilated bins containing earthworms and various types of bedding material (paper, peat moss or other) to turn kitchen waste into a dark, nutrient-rich soil conditioner. As a result of its efforts, the district estimates it has saved 8,500 trees, 231,500 gallons of oil and 350,000 gallons of water.
Gloversville-Johnstown Joint Sewer Board (Fulton County). Faced with a malfunction that produced greenhouse gas leaks, sapped efficiency and posed a potential explosion risk, the board chose a non-conventional solution. It constructed a new dual-membrane cover to replace a defective cover for a unit known as an anaerobic digester (which breaks down organic materials into methane and other gases). This marked the first application of this technology in the state. The result: the dangerous conditions were eliminated, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced and electricity purchases at the facility declined 26 percent.
The Nature Conservancy, Adirondack Chapter. The group has developed its Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, aimed at detecting, eradicating and managing infestations of invasive plants. Working with state agencies, other non-profit groups, academic groups and volunteers, TNC has made presentations, developed public-service publications, produced videos and made other efforts to spread the news about the dangers of invasive species. TNC's efforts also involve elbow grease and shoe leather. Volunteers have served as monitors for 182 waterways and have ripped out tons of garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed, purple loosestrife and other invaders from Adirondack roadsides.
IBM East Fishkill (Dutchess County). Despite not being legally obligated to do so, the IBM semi-conductor plant put on line a new wastewater treatment system that reduced the discharge of nitrates by 67 percent. Using a distillation process, the new system recovers and recycles ammonia-laden wastewater, which in turn directly reduces the amount of ammonium hydroxide and nitrates produced at the plant.
DEC established the Environmental Excellence Awards in 2004 to recognize ingenuity, creative partnerships and leadership efforts that achieve noteworthy environmental, social and economic benefits for New York State. The program has now honored 25 winners. For additional information about the program and past winners, and to learn about applying for the 2008 awards, visit the DEC Web site at http://www.dec.ny.gov/.
