Kenworth Truck Co.’s Renton, WA, plant has been awarded a 2010 Best Workplace for Recycling and Waste Reduction award from King County’s Solid Waste Division. The plant was awarded for its efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle.
“It is gratifying to receive this honor, which recognizes the diligent efforts of employees to reduce, reuse and recycle,” said Mike Clark, Kenworth-Renton plant manager. “For example, under the plant’s ambitious Zero Waste to Landfill program, we have already achieved a diversion away from landfills of nearly 80% of all materials through the use of recycling bins, returnable shipping containers, reduced packaging material, and waste-stream segregation.”
The plant’s cafeteria uses food waste composting, sending the waste to Cedar Grove Composting for recycling into compost.
The plant won a 2009 Gold Award from the King County Industrial Waste Program for compliance with the plant’s industrial wastewater discharge permit. The award recognizes the plant for one year of no wastewater violations of any kind covering discharge, permit, ordinance, reporting, self-monitoring, and King County monitoring. It also picked up a Seattle Business magazine honor with a Green Washington award for its environmental efforts with hybrid trucks.
“Kenworth is honored to receive this prestigious King County environmental award for the second consecutive year,” said Marilyn Santangelo, Kenworth asst. gm for operations. “The Kenworth Renton plant remains committed to protecting the environment through conserving natural resources and waste reduction.”
