The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the 2018 winners of its national WasteWise awards. The 10 winning organizations collectively prevented and diverted over 356,000 tons of waste from entering landfills, saving them over $19.6 million in avoided landfill fees.
“EPA’s WasteWise program helps encourage organizations and businesses to divert waste from landfills, which not only conserves resources and protects the environment but also saves money,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Our 2018 winners demonstrate that keeping valuable materials out of the trash is a win-win for the environment and their bottom lines.”
EPA’s WasteWise program encourages organizations and businesses to achieve sustainability in their practices and to reduce select industrial wastes. Participants in the program work to prevent and divert waste that would otherwise be disposed of in landfills or incinerated.
Every year EPA recognizes WasteWise partners in various categories who report the best overall improvement in waste prevention and recycling activities when compared to the previous year. The 10 national award winners for work conducted in 2018 are:
College/University Category
- Partner of the Year: University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth—North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
- Honorable Mention: Georgia State University—Atlanta, Georgia
Large Business Category
- Partner of the Year: Commonwealth Edison—Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Local Government Category
- Partner of the Year: City of Urbana—Urbana, Illinois
Mid-size Business Category
- Partner of the Year: Perishable Distributors of Iowa—Ankeny, Iowa
Non-profit Organization Category
- Partner of the Year: The Valley Hospital—Ridgewood, New Jersey
School/School District Category
- Partner of the Year: Pasco County Schools—Land O Lakes, Florida
Small Business Category
- Partner of the Year: Urban Chesnut Brewing Company—St. Louis, Missouri
Very Large Business Category
- Partner of the Year: L Brands, Inc.—Columbus, Ohio
- Honorable Mention: Kohl’s Department Stores—Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
The WasteWise program is part of EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management efforts that promote the use and reuse of materials more productively over their entire life cycles. All U.S. businesses, governments and non-profit organizations can join WasteWise as a partner, an endorser, or both. Partners demonstrate how they reduce waste, practice environmental stewardship and incorporate sustainable materials management into their waste-handling processes. Endorsers promote enrollment in WasteWise as part of a comprehensive approach to help their stakeholders realize the economic benefits to reducing waste. .
