The applicants and nominees listed below were recognized by the Governor in 1993 for their efforts to protect and enhance the environmental quality of Vermont by conserving natural resources and preventing pollution before it is generated. Where there are multiple award recipients in a single category, the panel of judges did not make a distinction between first, second, and third place winners. Thus, the award recipients are listed alphabetically.

Business/Industry/Trade/Professional Organizations

Large Businesses:

B.F. Goodrich/Simmonds Precision (Vergennes, VT) - Recognized for its waste minimization efforts that, among other things, resulted in its elimination of chlorinated ozone depleting solvents. The company's waste reduction efforts have achieved a steady and significant decrease in the amount of waste generated per worker. And this was accomplished during a period, from 1990 to 1993, when production remained essentially constant but the company was required to reduce its workforce by approximately 450 employees. Managers and staff at Simmonds Precision implemented several pollution prevention measures that helped the company improve its plating process, to improve its handling of machining coolants, and to convert from a solvent to a semi-aqueous based batch cleaning system for its printed circuit board assembly operation.

Green Mountain Power (South Burlington, VT) - Recognized for its energy conservation/ energy efficiency programs. In 1990 and 1991 Green Mountain Power (GMP) devised eight Demand Side Management (DSM) energy efficiency programs that together, in 1992, saved enough electricity to serve 1,200 residences. That means, in effect, that because of GMP's efforts there was no environmental impact from the energy consumption of 1,200 homes, or nearly 2% of the residential customers served by GMP.

International Business Machines (IBM Chemical/ Environmental Programs) (Essex Jct., VT) - Recognized for its efforts to use pollution prevention strategies to achieve economic and environmental results. In 1986 IBM committed itself to removing all CFC materials from their manufacturing processes by 1992. IBM achieved this goal by using input substitution in various technical applications. In 1989 IBM converted from methylene chloride, a hazardous cleaning agent, to dibasic ester, a non-hazardous cleaning alternative. IBM reduced toxic chemical use and waste generation by from 20% to 80% on select processes due to a conversion from a dips-in-bulk-tank cleaning process to a spray cleaning system that works much like a dishwasher. The Burlington IBM site leads the semiconductor industry in eliminating the use of highly toxic and hazardous chemicals. The Burlington manufacturing facility has reduced its chemical emissions to the environment by 97% from 1979 to 1993.

General Dynamics (formerly Martin Marietta) (Burlington, VT) - Recognized for its comprehensive Waste Minimization and Toxics Use Reduction (TUR) program. Begun in 1987, the program has built upon top-management support and the efforts of a waste minimization team to secure company-wide involvement and commitment to meeting its goals for waste minimization and toxics use reduction. The company has eliminated its use of cyanide and will have eliminated its use of all Ozone-Depleting Chemicals (ODCs) by January 1, 1994. Martin Marietta has also employed pollution prevention strategies to reduce its plating solution wastes by 60%, its waste oil by 50%, and will soon be phasing out its use of toxic plating sealer and converting to a less toxic solution.

Small Businesses:

Hemmings Sunoco (Bennington, VT) - Recognized for installing stage II gasoline vapor recovery equipment (where there currently exists no regulatory requirement to do so) in order to prevent the release of toxic air pollutants.

New England Woodcraft (Forest Dale, VT) - Recognized for its development of a new water-based wood finish and for creation of the furniture industry's only commercial water-based finish flatline system. New England Woodcraft's wood coating system employs a reciprocating arm equipped with photoelectric sensor-controlled spray nozzles that adjust for wide and narrow boards. The process of converting from a nitrocellulose- to water-based acrylic emulsion finish was one that required a lot of experimentation and close cooperation with the laboratory. Taken together, the water-based finish and the application system has allowed the company to reduce its emissions of VOCs tenfold; going from 90 to 9 tons annually.

New York Cleaners (Colchester, VT) - Recognized for its on-going efforts to make its drycleaning and laundry business more environmentally sensitive. In 1989, before the EPA mandated upgrades in the drycleaning industry, the company invested in a turbo drycleaning system that utilizes spin filters that are coated with diatomaceous earth and a still for recovering the perchlorethylene used in the drycleaning process. As a result of this investment, New York Cleaners reduced its consumption of "perc" from 1,800 gallons to 300 gallons per year. In addition, in 1992 the company re-engineered its wastewater treatment system for the laundry department and instituted a program to collect used "envirofilm" plastic bags and used clothes hangers.

Nexus Electronics (Brandon, VT) - Recognized for its pollution prevention initiatives designed to reduce its use of toxic chemicals and its generation of hazardous waste produced by the manufacture of electronic components. Nexus entirely eliminated its use of ozone-depleting freons by converting its circuit board cleaning system to a low-toxicity terpene followed by water rinse in a closed loop system. This resulted in a reduction of 4,000 pounds of hazardous freon waste as well as 2,200 pounds of air emissions. Another cleaning solvent, methanol, which resulted in almost 25,000 pounds of hazardous waste and 8,000 pounds of air emissions, has been reduced by more than 90 percent through on-site filtration. By extending the life of the solvent the amount of solvent purchased has been drastically reduced. These changes in processes at Nexus will potentially change their status from a fully regulated to a conditionally exempt generator of hazardous waste. Nexus has also developed an approved Toxics Use Reduction and Hazardous Waste Reduction Plan that it's shared with other electronics firms and has actively participated in workshops to share its findings with other firms in Vermont.

U.S. Tsubaki (Bennington, VT) - Recognized for its efforts to eliminate or reduce the waste streams that include coolant and lubricant wastes. U.S. Tsubaki is the third leading sprocket fabricator in the nation. Many of the company's 150 employees contributed to the company's pollution prevention effort by using a Total Quality Management approach to problem-solving. In 1987, a coolant management program was initiated and the company converted to an oil/water soluble agent. U.S. Tsubaki eliminated use of a flood coolant system in favor of a vegetable mist with a timing spray system designed to dispense as little coolant as necessary, yet maintain good cooling. The company also developed a central recycling system for its coolants. In 1991 the company began to evaporate water from waste oil and thereby reduce disposal costs and make it easier to reclaim waste oils for reuse. U.S. Tsubaki is currently in the process of converting to a new state-of-the-art synthetic cooling system that will further reduce its generation of hazardous waste.

Wagon Wheel Truck Plaza (St. Albans, VT) - Recognized for installing stage II gasoline vapor recovery equipment (where there currently exists no regulatory requirement to do so) in order to prevent the release of toxic air pollutants.

Environmental, Community, and Non-Profit Organizations

EarthRight Institute (White River Junction, VT) - Recognized for its "Up for Grabs," one day, annual, Reusable Goods Festival serving communities in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. The event, begun in 1990, serves to encourage volunteer participation in environmental education and action and specifically avoids pollution by recycling material goods that would otherwise be disposed of in local landfills. EarthRight Institute has been working on solid waste reduction and pollution prevention in the Upper Valley for five years. EarthRight organized the first collection of glossy paper in the Upper Valley, collecting over 40 tons in one weekend. In EarthRight's tire recycling project, 2,100 tires were collected for recycling in a single day.

Energy Rated Homes of Vermont (Burlington, VT) - Recognized for its efforts to improve the energy efficiency of Vermont's housing stock, to reduce energy-related environmental impacts, and to make housing affordable to more Vermonters. Energy Rated Homes of Vermont (ERH-VT) is looked upon as a national leader in the promotion and development of energy-efficient housing and innovative mortgage programs that reward energy savers. According to ERH-VT calculations, each year the average Vermont home made energy efficient saves more than $300 in fuel costs and 45 million Btu of energy, preventing the release of 7,300 pounds of carbon dioxide -- the major contributor to global climate change. Upgrading only 100 typical Vermont homes to the FOUR STAR level the program promotes would cut carbon dioxide emissions by 365,000 tons annually. Since its founding in 1987, ERH-VT has completed more than 1,500 home energy ratings that have been used to write more than 700 energy-efficient mortgages.

Individual Citizens

Connie Leach-Bisson, Glenn McRae, and Holly Shaner (through CGH Environmental Strategies, Inc., Burlington, VT) - Recognized for a team effort leading to MedCycle, a project designed to evaluate the potential for separating out the reusable and recyclable fraction from the contaminated or infectious wastestream generated by hospitals. No one had ever designed an effective program for capturing the recyclable portion of the waste stream generated in a patient care area of the hospital. By collecting nearly two tons of waste from the surgical services wing of MCHV during May 1991 and sorting it into 20 different categories the team was able to develop a way to segregate wastes. MedCycle collection bins are now used in operating room suites during the surgical prep time and removed prior to the admittance of the patient. This simple and innovative approach has allowed the MedCycle team to source separate the wastes and force a rethinking in hospitals across the country about segregating waste streams. In 1992 the American Hospital Association contracted with the team to write a manual for the health care professionals. Published in the spring of 1993, An Ounce of Prevention, provides hospital staff with the resources they need to implement effective waste reduction and recycling programs in health care facilities.

Will Raap (President, Gardener's Supply Company, Burlington, VT) - Recognized for his efforts to mobilize his company, its customers, and Vermont's largest city, to promote organic solutions to gardeners across the United States. Raap's efforts have served to create new models of agricultural stewardship and to reclaim a 600 acre tract of land once on the verge of becoming the city's biggest dumping ground -- the historic floodplain known as the Intervale. Will Raap's work in the Intervale is especially notable. Raap formed an Intervale Foundation to carry out many of the programs the company started. The Intervale, under the guidance of Raap and the Foundation became the home of a community garden site and home of the Intervale Community Farm, a Community Sustainable Agriculture program. Additionally, the Intervale is host to a pilot food-to-waste-to-food project with the Perry Restaurant Group and, most recently, with the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont. With this new arrangement, a garden is now growing in the Intervale that will produce $20,000 of revenue in its first year from the sale of vegetables back to MCHV. At the same time, over 200 tons of waste is being diverted from the landfill.

Public Agencies

Vermont Agency of Transportation (Central Garage Complex, Berlin, VT) - Recognized for its efforts to practice pollution prevention in order to reduce hazardous waste generation at its Central Garage. The Agency of Transportation (AOT) has successfully reduced paint wastes through employee training, the adoption of new cleaning techniques, and by extending the intervals between cleanings. Paint-related wastes were reduced significantly when the agency determined that it could fill the lines of its six painting vehicles with petroleum naptha solvent during the winter months and reuse this solvent to thin highway marking paint in the spring. Since 1990, the generation of waste paint and associated wastes have decreased from 7,500 lbs/yr to an estimated 4,500 lbs/yr in 1993. Aqueous-based detergent jet sprays have replaced naptha-based parts cleaners and sodium hydroxide dip tanks in the vehicle service bays and AOT's Central Garage is the leader in state government for using rebuilt parts, retreaded tires, and re-refined engine lubricants. AOT also, after realizing that lead was a constituent of the orange paint it used to paints all its vehicles, converted to a lead-free orange paint. This change was made despite the fact that the lead-free paint costs twice as much.

Municipalities

Town of Charlotte - Recognized for its use of alternative sewage collection and treatment techniques to abate existing pollution of Lake Champlain coming from inadequate shoreline septic systems. The project was organized and developed by a private association of leaseholders on Thompson's Point in Charlotte, Vermont. At the prompting of the Town of Charlotte, the leaseholders voluntarily formed an organization that funded the engineering effort to develop plans that utilize cost-effective alternative sewage collection and treatment methods that reduce the quantity of pollutants going to degrade the water quality of the lake.

An agreement was then reached with the Town of Charlotte to transfer ownership and operating responsibility from the leaseholders to the Town. The agreement between the leaseholders and the Town was crucial to the financial success of the project, allowing the leasholders to obtain favorable financing without encumbering the Town's general citizenry, by levying bond repayment and operational costs to the users. The effort exemplifies how public and private sectors can cooperate to solve pollution problems in a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive manner. The project utilizes septic tank effluent pumping to transfer pre-treated effluent to an area more distant from the lake for further treatment. An integral part of the project is the replacement of conventional toilets with low-flow units and the installation of low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators.