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DES Wins the 2007 National Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award
Concord, NH - The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services was awarded the National Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award from the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable in Washington, D.C. This year’s MVP2 Awards will be given during National Pollution Prevention (P2) Week, September 17-21, 2007, by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable. NPPR is the largest membership organization in the United States devoted solely to P2. The mission of NPPR is to provide a national forum for promoting the development, implementation, and evaluation of efforts to avoid, eliminate, or reduce pollution at the source. The award recognizes DES for their continued efforts to promote the reduction of waste and to build working relationship with motor vehicle salvage yards (MVSY). Since 2003, the Solid Waste Management Bureau and the New Hampshire Pollution Prevention Program (NHPPP) have worked together to encourage the implementation of best management practices at MVSY through a program they developed called the New Hampshire Green Yards. The New Hampshire Green Yards Program has helped to build a relationship between MVSY operators and municipal officials and reduce the amount of fluids such as oil, gas and antifreeze that find their way into the waste streams and water systems. DES education and outreach efforts included guidance documents, workshops, technical assistance and site visits. From 2003 to 2006, over 170 individual facilities have been evaluated for pollution prevention techniques, as well as best management practices. Twenty-seven fact sheets were created and distributed to MVSYs. The Green Yard Program encourages MVSY to go beyond best management practices and implement standard operating procedures. DES estimates that the 20 New Hampshire Certified Green Yards have recycled or reused 114,450 gallons of gas, 32,177 gallons of oil, and 37,710 gallons of antifreeze that could potentially have been discharged to the ground and contaminated groundwater. Between 2003 and 2007, NHPPP and the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recycling Program have collected and recycled 6,233 mercury switches, which is equal to fifteen pounds of mercury being removed from the waste stream since the start of the program. In addition to continuing to strive toward expanding the Green Yards Program, the NHPPP will have a display in the DES lobby at 29 Hazen Drive, Concord, on alternative household (green) cleaning products and other pollution prevention tips for the 2007 Pollution Prevention Week. For more information, contact Sara Johnson (603) 271-6460, nhppp@des.state.nh.us, or http://www.des.nh.gov/nhppp/.
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