Category: Awards Programs

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MnTap Source Newsletter 2007 Issue 1 Available

The latest edition of the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) newsletter, Source is now available online. Included in this issue:

  • Rx for the Environment: Hospitals are reporting tenfold increases in costs for managing pharmaceutical waste. Prevention options are helping some facilities reduce drug waste and costs.MnTAP logo
  • Pharmaceutical Waste Workshops: MnTAP is sponsoring three pharmaceutical waste workshops to help hospital-based pharmacies keep in regulatory compliance.
  • Minnesota Health Care Facilities Win Honors: Three Minnesota health care facilities were recognized at the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment’s Environmental Excellence Summit.
  • Disposing of Drug Waste at Home: Tips on how to manage unwanted medications from your home.
  • Lou-Rich Cuts Water: This contract metal manufacturer reduced water used in cleaning and cooling operations by 8.9 million gallons per year, saving $42,100 annually—with assistance from a MnTAP intern.
  • Non-contact Cooling Water: Evaluate your facility’s use of non-contact cooling water to identify opportunities to reduce water use and cost.
  • Where’s Your Waste–MnTAP Interns: Nine MnTAP interns are reducing waste across the Minnesota. Join us on August 23 to hear about how their companies are working to reduce waste.
  • Vacuum Bagging and Infusion Demonstration: Carstens Industries will share its process for vacuum bagging and infusion in Melrose on September 12.
  • Lean and Green Seminar: Manufacturers Alliance is hosting the educational seminar “The New Scene is Lean & Green” on August 9. Three manufacturers will present their experiences.
  • Minnesota Materials Exchange: A materials exchange program lists one company’s unwanted material and makes it available for use by another company. The listings in Source are examples of available and wanted listings, and successful exchanges from the Minnesota Materials Exchange.
  • Calendar: MnTAP posts trainings and events related to manufacturing process improvement, waste management and environmental, health and safety.

Sign-up for a free subscription of the MnTAP newsletter. You can receive the newsletter via e-mail. Minnesota businesses and organizations can choose to receive a hardcopy in the mail, ideal for routing to colleagues.

Archived past issues of Source are available on the MnTAP web site.

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Applications Being Accepted for Illinois Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards

Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich has announced that applications are now available for the 2007 Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards. The Waste Management and Research Center (WMRC) – a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)- is now accepting applications for the annual awards program that honors companies and organizations for their efforts to prevention pollution.

“Organizations that lead the way in finding and using new methods to reduce waste and protect the environment contribute to a healthier Illinois,” said Gov. Blagojevich. “Anyone who makes an ongoing commitment to prevent pollution that, in the long run, will make their employees and our communities healthier is encouraged to apply.”

“It gives me great pleasure, year after year to see new companies and organizations recognized for their pollution prevention efforts. Our land benefits, our people benefit and these companies benefit for showing their leadership in environmental protection,” said Acting IDNR Director Sam Flood.

Since 1987, the WMRC has presented the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards to companies and organizations in Illinois that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through the practice of pollution prevention. Any Illinois public or private organization is eligible to apply for an award. Continuous Improvement Awards are awarded to companies that have shown an ongoing commitment to pollution prevention.

Information about the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards and an application are available online at: www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/gp2a/. Or contact Bob Iverson, Information Services Manager, to receive an application in the mail. Telephone: 217-333-8946. E-mail: biverson@wmrc.uiuc.edu.

The application due date is May 21, 2007. Technical experts from WMRC will review applications and site visits may be performed. The Governor’s office makes the final award decisions. Winners will be announced at the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards banquet on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at the Abbington in Glen Ellyn.

Thanks to Bob Iverson for submitting this information.

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IL: Applicants Sought for New Award

The Illinois Waste Management & Research Center (WMRC) is seeking applicants for the new Illinois Sustainable Technology Award. The Sustainable Technology Award recognizes a novel technology that leads to significant waste reduction or elimination. Applicants must illustrate how innovative the new technology is, discuss the long-term beneficial impact of the technology on the environment in Illinois, and show how it has been implemented.

This award comes with a scholarship, provided by external sources, which goes to an Illinois resident attending a college or university. The Sustainable Technology Award is an expansion of the Innovate Illinois Award formerly presented by WMRC.

Information about the Illinois Sustainability Technology Award is available on the WMRC web site: http://www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/gp2a/. The application due date is May 21, 2007. Technical experts from WMRC will review applications and site visits may be performed. The winner will be announced in October.

WMRC is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Its headquarters is on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Center also has offices in Oak Brook, Peoria and Brighton.

Thanks to Bob Iverson for submitting this information.

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Illinois organizations receive Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources have named 24 Illinois companies and organizations 2006 Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards winners for their significant achievements in protecting the environment and boosting the economy. The 20th annual Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards were presented in Bloomington during a luncheon hosted by the Waste Management and Research Center (WMRC), a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

Applicants for the awards were judged in a statewide competition on criteria including technological innovation, environmental significance, economic benefits and commitment to pollution prevention.

“We were impressed again with the variety and quality of the projects undertaken by the winning companies,” said George Vander Velde, WMRC Director. “These businesses and organizations have proven that pollution prevention makes good sense for the environmental and economic health of Illinois. They have achieved their pollution prevention goals and saved millions of dollars in pollution control, waste disposal, energy and raw material costs.”

The winners include:

Small company
Chem Processing, Inc. (CPI), Rockford
PortionPac Chemical Corporation, Chicago
Spraylat Corporation, Chicago
Consolidated Printing Co., Chicago

Large company
Farmland Foods, Inc., Monmouth
Illinois Department of Military Affairs, Springfield
CITGO, Lemont

Vendor/Supplier
Finishes Unlimited Inc., Sugar Grove

Educational Organization
Pontiac Township High School, Pontiac

Continuous Improvement
Small company
Lansing Cleaners, Lansing
R.B. White, Inc., Bloomington

Large company
GE Healthcare, Arlington Heights
Abbott, Abbott Park
ITT Bell & Gossett, Morton Grove
Gates Corporation, Galesburg
Nestle’ USA, Jacksonville
Cardinal Health, McGaw Park
Continental Tire North America (CTNA), Mount Vernon
International Truck & Engine Corporation, Melrose Park

Service Organization
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Breese
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System (SBLHS), Charleston/Mattoon

Innovate Illinois Award
Caterpillar’s Mossville Engine Center, Mossville

For more information on the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards, visit the WMRC website.