P2 week message

[Natalie Roy <NatalieRoy@compuserve.com>]

I am forwarding another P2 Week message from Virginia . Thank you VA DEQ
and Tom Griffin!! If any other states, local governments, federal agencies,
companies, Universities, NGO's etc. want to pass along their tips or share
information about their activities please feel free.  Again if you send an
overview of your activities to staff@P2.org,  they will be included in a
little compendium NPPR is putting together on the week's activities.  

My apologies for the tardiness of the following (Wednesday) message, but we
were busy here yesterday with the MVP2 awards.  We will be putting up some
pictures as well as more details on the winning projects from the MVP2
program  tomorrow and early next week.
Natalie Roy
NPPR


You are receiving these emails from the Virginia DEQ's Office of Pollution
Prevention as part of the celebration of
National Pollution Prevention Week, September 16-22, 2002.  
Please pass them along to your co-workers, friends, and family to help
promote P2!!
For more information, see http://www.deq.state.va.us/p2/p2week.html
Wednesday's Email:  A Simple Plan For Success

Happy Pollution Prevention Hump Day to you!  Well, it's the middle of the
business week, so we're gonna be all business today....well sort of.  The
day-to-day, setting the example, changing long-term habits and attitudes
stuff is very important....the aggregate environmental benefits are
significant even if individual actions sometimes seem small.  (DEQ's
Environmental Education program offers over a hundred resources and
opportunities on-line through its Virginia Naturally website at
http://www.vanaturally.com/. )

However, just so you'll know.  The majority of our P2 program focus is
actually on P2 and EMS for business and industry, and we too are aiming for
long-term reductions...but sometimes they come in big chunks!  So here is
the Office of Pollution Prevention's simple "To Do" List with some
successes.....:
U1. P2 Projects  
*       Help business and industry develop and initiate changes in
operation which reduce environmental impacts and save money (gotta save
money or not-a-gonna happen)   
*       Research P2 new technologies for possible applications 
*       Visit business and industry sites and help troubleshoot for P2
opportunities
*       Provide suggestions and estimates for reductions and cost savings
*       Document successes and share with other companies.
Here are a few examples....
*       Inventory Control Change at Newport News Shipbuilding - going to a
"Just-In-Time Paint Delivery System" reduced the amount of hazardous paint
waste by 325,000 pounds annually, resulting in overall savings of
$1,014,209 per year.
*       Process Change at Graham White, Salem, VA, eliminated coating of
foundry sand eliminating 36,458 pounds of methanol emissions, while saving
$71,291 in annual time savings and $22,057 in annual sand savings. 
*       Increased Automation:   Lee's Carpets in Glasgow, VA implemented a
flow control system on its process well, reducing total discharge by 1.3
million gallons per day and saving $126,000 per year in reduced electrical
and waste treatment costs. 

U2.  Environmental Management Systems/EMS
*       Encourage companies to develop a comprehensive commitment to
integrate pollution prevention concepts into all aspects of management and
operations.  
*       Let them know that in its basest form, a good EMS is really just a
plan for systematically reducing environmental impacts year-to-year by
setting reduction goals and enacting P2 projects.  If a facility is
achieving its goals, in the long run, its impacts should approach zero.  
*       Encourage participation in the Virginia Environmental Excellence
Program which provides assistance, recognition, and benefits for companies
with a comprehensive EMS.  See http://www.deq.state.va.us/veep/.
Here are a few EMS successes....
*       Canon Virginia in Newport News, VA is an "E3" designated member of
DEQ's Virginia Environmental Excellence Program.  Through their EMS, they
set P2 goals to eliminate or reduce harmful toxic chemicals and accomplish
"zero landfill". To date, these programs have reduced landfill by 98% and
all but eliminated hazardous waste and air emissions. 
*       Tetra Pak Tubex in Louisa, VA manufactures drinking straws. The
implemented an EMS prior to construction of its plant.  As a result, the
facility require NO environmental permits!  Tetra Pak Tubex is also an E3
designated facility. 
*       Virginia DEQ is striving to become the first environmental agency
in the country with a comprehensive EMS.   DEQ offices are making
reductions in energy usage, solid waste, and water consumption; and we're
already achieving real reductions and saving money!  For instance, the
Tidewater Regional Office has saved over $2600 in electricity bills in less
than 5 months!   

Whew, you see -- all business - finding P2 solutions is hard work, but
there are big environmental impact reductions and cost savings
opportunities to be had!!  Now go forth and P2!!  Don't worry, tomorrow we
will go back to more controversial rantings and ravings.....but here are a
few bizzare tips to tide you over....thanks to everyone who's sent them in!

Off-the Wall P2 Tips:  
*       April Fresh Dishes.  Wash, rinse your dishes in the sink,
preferably fill one section with rinse water rather than running water to
rinse them, place them in the dishwasher let them air dry.  Dishwashers use
lots of water!  
*       Beverly Hill-Billies.  Let your pool go natural...avoid all the
year after year expense, eliminate the need for all that chlorine and water
use, and enjoy yourself by the Cement Pond!  
*       Drink Like Viking!  To avoid disposal cups and the waste of water
from cleaning the mugs, just pass the coffee pot around and drink from it
like Vikings!  Or better yet, to save water, you should just give each
meeting attendee a handfall of coffee grounds that they can tuck between
their cheek and gum!!
*       Labels?  We Don't Need No Stinking Labels!  White labels may help
names stand out on interoffice mailings, but take only seconds less time
and increase the cost of mailings.  Add metered postage before filling
large envelopes and save the label here, too.  Use labels only for mail
that needs them.
*       Come a little closer, Dearie....  Eyes Getting Worse?  Well, if you
get new glasses, you can recycle the old ones.  Some optometrists and civic
organizations will accept used eye glasses and donate them to those who
can't afford them.
*       Forget to water your plants?  Try some "Soil Moist"--it's a polymer
that absorbs water so that you don't have to water your plants as much as
you usually would. 
*       Ahh..the smell of cut grass...or is that gas?  Gas-powered lawn
tools emit more pollution than you'd think.  Operating a gas-powered lawn
mower for one hour produces as much pollution as driving a car for 50
miles.  So, choose electric or hand powered yard tools such as rakes or
brooms in place of leaf blowers. 
*       Well, it feels like 90 degrees in the shade!  Reduce energy use by
planting tress and shrubs to create wind breaks and provide shade in
summer, insulate doors, windows, walls, and ceilings, turn off lights and
appliances that aren't in use, set thermostat no higher than 68 degrees in
winter, no lower than 75 degrees in summer, and buy energy-efficient
appliances.


Keep on sending me your ideas and tips - I'm creating a new category for
all you creative weirdos out there - and we'll be announcing the winners on
Friday!  (don't worry, you can still be anonymous)


Tom Griffin, Outreach Manager
VA DEQ Office of Pollution Prevention
804-698-4545


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