EPA announces 3 Pollution Prevention Award winners in Pacific Northwest

SEATTLE (Sept. 20, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced three Pacific Northwest companies as winners of the 2023 Regional Pollution Prevention Recognition Awards. The winners come from Kent and Mukilteo, Washington, and Clackamas, Oregon.

The EPA Regional Pollution Prevention Awards Program recognizes businesses that demonstrated leadership in innovative pollution prevention practices which reduce, eliminate, or prevent pollution at its source prior to recycling, treatment or disposal.

“EPA Region 10 is proud to have three of the five winners this year,” said EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller. “Industries in the Pacific Northwest are taking bold action to show sustainability and profit can go together - and benefit the community when they do. Congratulations to our winners!”

This is the first time the Pacific Northwest was recognized in the Pollution Prevention awards. The winners from EPA Region 10 are:

Exotic Metals Forming Division of Parker Aerospace, Kent, Washington, for eliminating chemical processes that contain n-Propylbromide, a hazardous compound that will soon be noncompliant in Washington State. By switching to a non-hazardous alternative to the anti-spatter product it was using and entirely removing a vapor degreasing process, the company estimates that it is preventing thousands of pounds of nPB waste from being released into the environment and it is saving thousands of dollars in disposal costs.

“Our team is extremely proud of our results to reduce air emissions, waste generated, and potential exposures to hazardous chemicals impacting human health. This award is really just the cherry on top. We would like to also recognize that this project would not have been such a success without the partnership from the Washington State Dept. of Ecology and the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center,” said Shasta Denoso, Division EHS Manager.

Production Plating, Incorporated, Mukilteo, Washington, for successfully reducing sodium hydroxide waste by 50 percent in its operations. Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye or caustic soda, is a corrosive inorganic compound. The change has decreased its waste disposal weight by 75 percent in most waste streams and is saving approximately $500,000 per year.

“All of us at PPI are extremely thankful for the recognition and we look forward to implementing more continuous improvement projects with technical assistance from the WSDOE,” said Marc Wislen, President.

Pacific Seafood, Clackamas, Oregon, for switching to safer cleaning options at its seafood processing facility, implementing actions to decrease the amount of chemicals wasted, and focusing on water and energy conservation. The company estimates that the use of more efficient cleaning equipment alone has saved more than 330,000 gallons of water over the course of a year. Pacific Seafood is now implementing these changes at all of its facilities.

“As we proudly accept this award, we want to thank the EPA for recognizing our pollution prevention and conservation efforts. At Pacific Seafood, we aim to reduce our impact in the communities we live in and serve and protect the environment, now and in the future, by educating our team members about sustainability and the simple steps we can take to be good stewards of the environment. We want every team member to take what they learn at work and put it into practice with their family and friends. That’s how we change our communities,” said Amy Wentworth, EHS Director.

More information, including a list of all winners nationwide, can be found in "EPA Announces Winners of the 2023 Regional Pollution Prevention Recognition Awards” at https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-winners-2023-regional-pollution-prevention-recognition-awards.

Read more about EPA’s P2 program at https://www.epa.gov/p2