Projects Help Agency Reduce Environmental Footprint
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today the winners for the 2009 Sustainability Achievement Awards. Winning project teams are from the VA medical centers in Martinsburg, W.Va.; Portland, Ore.; and Iron Mountain, Mich.
“These awards recognize VA’s commitment to become a better steward of the environment,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said. “These projects will help our efforts in VA’s transition to creating a sustainable agency and provide savings that will be used to enhance our services to Veterans and their families.”
The awards recognize VA employees and facilities who have demonstrated outstanding environmental stewardship and whose efforts have resulted in significant contributions to the environment. Awards categories include waste prevention, recycling, green purchasing activities, environmental management systems, high performance and sustainable buildings, reduced fuel consumption, and electronics stewardship.
The Martinsburg VA Medical Center’s Nutrition and Food Service staff developed the “Waste Watchers” program to enhance manual food waste tracking, implement a composting program, and assess and develop potential program improvements.
The pre-consumer food composting program uses the Environmental Protection Agency’s Food Waste Management hierarchy, adheres to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Code and industry guidelines, eliminates potential pest problems and resulted in an annual diversion of approximately 17 tons of food waste from landfills.
In fiscal year 2009, the Nutrition and Food Service staff reduced the cost of food by 11 percent, while maintaining high Veteran satisfaction scores for customer service.
The Portland VA Medical Center’s Green Environmental Management Systems (GEMS) team provided employee education on recycling and waste diversion. Training and outreach resources include mandatory Web-based awareness training for employees, an informational Web site, newsletters, Earth Day events, and a “Bio-Man” video that educates employees on bio-hazardous waste.
The medical center partnered with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Clean Diesel project and had emissions-lowering devices installed on the facility’s diesel vehicles.
Other community partners include Portland Parks and Recreation, Friends of Terwilliger, and the Boy Scouts of America.
The GEMS team identified recycling and waste diversion opportunities; incorporated recycled materials into interior design and construction projects; partnered with other governmental and community organizations; and encouraged the use of carpools and public transportation. Through active participation of the employees, the medical center reduced medical waste by 20 percent, recycled nearly a ton of batteries, reduced energy use and reduced waste disposal costs.
In Iron Mountain, Mich., the Oscar H. Johnson VA Medical Center’s GEMS team developed new recycling opportunities that were previously unavailable in rural areas. In addition to white paper, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs, the facility can now recycle cardboard, pallets, scrap metal, cooking grease, compostable items and aluminum cans.
The facility purchased Xylene recycling equipment, which saves the medical center approximately $7,500 annually and reduces the facility’s hazardous waste disposal by approximately 91 percent. Through employee education and periodic audits, this facility managed to reduce regulated medical waste by 24 percent, creating an annual cost savings of approximately $6,000.
The medical center estimates it now diverts more than half of its solid waste from landfills.
VA has a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020 and to prevent pollution by diverting, on average, 50 percent of its solid waste by 2015. Department-level award programs such as the Sustainability Achievement Awards will help VA reduce its environmental footprint.
# # #
###
Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.
Veterans can also use our chatbot to get information about VA benefits and services. The chatbot won’t connect you with a person, but it can show you where to go on VA.gov to find answers to some common questions.
Subscribe today to receive these news releases in your inbox.
