1996 Award Winners

• Larson/Glastron Boats, Inc.
• Onan Corporation, Fridley
• Marvin Windows & Doors
• Ramsey County
• More-4 Store, Farmington
• Wabasha County
• Network Systems Corporation
• Honorable Mention: Citizens for a Better Environment

Since 1990, Larson/Glastron Boats has been implementing methods to reduce emissions and improve safety for employees in its fiberglass boat manufacturing facility. The company's efforts to reduce emissions have placed them in the forefront in their industry in addressing waste issues.

By switching to a low-styrene-based resin and using new application equipment, Larson/Glastron expects to reduce styrene emissions by more than 13 percent. The company is pilot-testing a closed-cavity bag molding process that will, if successful, reduce styrene emissions by 70 percent. Water-blown foam for seat cushions, eliminating HCFCs as a blowing agent, and electrostatic spray-up of gel-coat are both leading-edge technologies that Larson/Glastron is implementing.

The company replaced acetone for cleaning with water-based emulsifiers and a nonhazardous cleaner, creating a better environment for the employee and saving $600 per year. The company also eliminated 90 percent of its 1,1,1 trichloroethane emissions by switching to water-based adhesives. This change saved $103,000 and reduced emissions by 51 tons per year.

Larson/Glastron employees recycle office paper, corrugated cardboard, aluminum scrap iron, ABS plastic, HDPE, insulated wire, wood pallets and many other items. This effort saved the company $49,000 and kept 716 tons of waste out of the landfill.

"Larson/Glastron has taken a very positive position in being responsible for its effect on the environment and we will continue to use resources and monitor new products and methods that have the lowest environmental impact," said one Larson/Glastron official.

Marvin Windows & Doors, Warroad

Marvin Windows & Doors incorporated a pollution prevention program throughout the 2,700 employee company. The program affected everyone, including the environmental, engineering, production, purchasing, personnel and quality control departments.

A large portion of the environmental improvements occurred through changes in the painting process. A high-solids topcoat replacement reduced VOCs, and particularly MIBK, by over 80 percent. Equipment modifications, operator training and quality checks increased paint transfer efficiency from 15 percent to 30 percent. Rejected units, which result in wasted paint, were significantly reduced by addressing assembly line and handling damages, inadequate surface preparation and inconsistent paint thickness.

Other chemicals were either eliminated or replaced with emission-reducing products. Water-based coatings, putties and lacquers, as well as the elimination of a silicone sealer containing nearly 35 percent toluene, contributed to the total reduction in EPA 33/50 chemicals from 11.35 pounds per 100 units manufactured in 1988 to 3.29 pounds in 1994. Cost savings from improved materials and work flow currently total $100,000 annually.

Marvin's other waste-reduction and pollution prevention initiatives include:

• Heating their two-million square foot facility with 10,000 tons of wood scrap from local sawmills and factories, including its own operations.
  
• Employee-led efforts that resulted in more than 6,000 tons of recycled material, including aluminum, cardboard, glass, metal, paper and tires.
  
• Review of requests for new materials to ensure that they are compatible with pollution prevention objectives.
  
• "Leader Status" in the Minnesota Waste Wise Program.
  

"We go the extra mile in every aspect of the business," said Susan Marvin, company president. "We're always looking for ways to build windows and doors better and smarter. It makes sense that we'd apply the same ambition to protecting our community and our environment."

More-4 Store, Farmington

The More-4 store in Farmington was built in 1994 upon its parent company's long-standing corporate commitment to the environment. Materials and systems were incorporated to reduce the store's environmental impact. These include:

• Refrigeration systems which contain no CFCs. Instead, the systems use R-404A, a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) with no ozone depletion potential and low global warming potential.
• T8 fluorescent bulbs with electronic ballasts and reflectors light the store. These lights are the most energy-efficient on the market today, using 50 percent less energy than older T12 bulbs and saving more than $10,000 per year.
  
• A floor made of a highly polished concrete with a surface of silica sand, quartz rock, white cement and white pigment. The floor is cleaned with water and mild soap, avoiding the by-products created by stripping and buffing. This floor results in a annual cost savings of more than $25,000.
  

More-4's commitment to reducing waste is also evident in its use of reinked cash register ribbons, an inventory tracking system that reduces spoilage, and reuse of containers and envelopes. The store also has a sophisticated recycling system for separating cardboard, paper, glass, tin, aluminum, plastics, fluorescent light bulbs and stretch wrap. Food waste – approximately two tons per month – is collected by a local farmer who cooks it and feeds it to hogs.

Ongoing environmental choices for customers include a five-cent-per-bag rebate for each bag a customer reuses, and a display of cleaning product alternatives and organically grown produce.

"It is both eye-opening and rewarding to understand the role we as a grocery store playin the greater ecosystem and the impact our actions have on the environment," said Store Director Brian Dapper.

Network Systems Corporation, Brooklyn Park

As a supplier of networking equipment made from many parts and subassemblies, Network Systems Corporation's volume of packaging waste had steadily increased. This waste consisted of materials such as cardboard, polystyrene foam, plastic bags, shrink wrap, bubble wrap and anti-static packing.

In 1992, the company started a waste reduction and recycling program to reduce waste and reclaim the storage space and handling time that it was consuming. Since then, NSC has reduced its disposal of compacted trash by 77 percent, or 46,000 cubic feet per year, and the company expects further improvement in the year ahead.

To reduce waste even further, the company began working with vendors to implement reusable shipping systems and bulk parts stocking systems based on the Japanese KANBAN principle. Where practical, the company also uses pass-through packaging techniques, which encourage reuse of packaging that, with forethought and planning, can be used several times.

Network Systems' waste reduction efforts extend far beyond the manufacturing floor. New products now are designed to require less packaging, and new packaging systems are designed to fit multiple products. Engineering documents and purchase orders are exchanged with vendors electronically, eliminating more than 1,428 pounds of waste annually. In addition, the company recycles customer-retired products as part of its after-sale support, a practice that eliminates more than 150,000 pounds of material waste each year.

For Network Systems, what began as a simple recycling trial has grown into a comprehensive waste reduction program that now involves vendors and customers as well as company employees. It's a corporate wide initiative that reflects the company's ongoing commitment to the community and the environment.

Onan Corporation, Fridley Manufacturing Facility

As part of ongoing waste minimization efforts at its Fridley manufacturing facility, Onan Corporation targeted its metal finishing operations (cleaning, pre-treatment and painting) as a top priority. In the early 1990s, teams were formed to identify and evaluate metal finishing alternatives, in partnership with local regulators and material and equipment suppliers.

By May 1993, all vapor degreasing was eliminated, reducing annual ozone-depleting emissions by 100 tons, and non-contact cooling water discharge by five million gallons. In October 1994, an electro-deposition painting and pre-treatment system ("E-Coat") was installed. One of the first of its kind in the world, this two-coat system provides best-in-class coating performance at almost half the cost of the conventional paint it replaces. Improved manufacturing flexibility and reduced reliance on out-sourced painting are additional benefits. Inherent efficiencies of the water-based E-Coat process, along with the incorporated conservation technologies, reduced annual facility VOC emissions by 55 percent, lowered wastewater discharges by 83 percent, and prevented the generation of 70 tons of hazardous paint waste per year.

Current projects include implementing solvent-free alternator coatings and trickle application processes, machining coolant recycling, and the elimination of lead-based solder. Returnable and reusable transport and other packaging has been adopted wherever practical, and non-returnable materials are recycled. A comprehensive waste minimization project is under way on the E-Coat system to identify further opportunities for pollution prevention and cost savings.

"Pollution prevention is the best way to protect the environment," said Daniel B. Seebart, director of Fridley operations. "At Onan, that type of effort has proved to be good business."

Ramsey County, Metropolitan Area

The Ramsey County Business Waste Assistance Program is a client-based, innovative public education and technical assistance effort to empower businesses and institutions to improve their environmental performance. Program activities raise awareness of waste issues, offer technical assistance and information, and encourage clients to rethink the way business is done. Services such as phone consultation, on-site waste assessments and printed materials give businesses tools to make decisions that benefit the environment and improve the business' bottom line.

Initiated in 1991, the program is one of the first large-scale efforts by a local government in Minnesota to address business waste management issues. Since the program started, each of the approximately 15,000 businesses in the County has been contacted at least four times about waste management issues. Through 1995, more than 560 businesses have received personal consultation on pollution prevention and recycling. In addition, more than 750 businesses have requested other printed materials.

Collaboration with business associations, municipalities, peer programs and other service providers is an important part of the County's program. These partnerships have enhanced the impact of limited resources, founded relationships in the community, and often given partners an opportunity to be of greater service to members or constituents.

Ramsey County has undertaken a campaign to raise awareness among businesses on pollution prevention, recycling, disposal liability concerns and other waste management issues. The County has sent mailings to approximately 4,000 businesses and conducted a door-to-door campaign, bringing waste reduction and recycling messages to approximately 550 other businesses.

The Business Waste Assistance Program has also taken steps to prevent waste in its own facilities, including reducing paper use and employee food packaging waste, a "just-in-time" approach to printing materials to avoid overruns and surpluses, and air hand dryers in rest rooms.

The program surveys 300 businesses biennially to measure gains in pollution prevention. Results from the initial survey indicate already impressive performance in waste prevention and recycling.

Wabasha County, Southeast Minnesota

Wabasha County's Solid Waste/Recycling Department played an important role in a serious mercury disposal problem. Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator Tom Mosher was asked by Dairyland Equipment Services, Inc., to help dispose of 25 pounds of mercury from the repair and replacement of mercury manometers, commonly used on dairy farms to measure the vacuum pressure in milking systems.

Mosher looked at the request of Dairyland Equipment Services not as a simple disposal issue, but as the source of a much larger and more serious problem: the possible contamination of land, rivers and people by a highly toxic chemical.

After helping Dairyland Equipment Services properly manage and dispose of its waste mercury, Mosher contacted the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) about the potential for recovering more mercury, given the county's large number of dairy farms. A MnTAP intern came to Wabasha County to study the use of mercury on dairy farms, and to research alternatives to mercury manometers. The intern project found that there are more than 84 pounds of mercury in Wabasha County, either on dealers' shelves or on the county's dairy farms. The intern project also determined that there is over 2,000 pounds of mercury, in the state of Minnesota, on the dealers' shelves or on dairy farms.

Wabasha County now hopes to be a part of the next step in the resolution of this mercury problem – a replacement for mercury manometers in the dairy industry of Minnesota.

Recently, Wabasha has also been involved in other waste prevention activities.

• An internal team to review and implement waste reduction/pollution prevention strategies.
• An updated five-year Solid Waste Management Plan, including waste reduction and pollution prevention activities for the next three years.
  
• Due to waste reduction and pollution prevention activity, the county has qualified for the state's Waste Reduction credit the last two years.
  
• Annual collections of household hazardous waste, waste pesticides and pesticide containers, fluorescent light bulbs and ballasts.
  
• Spring clean-ups in eight communities for appliances, tires, old furniture items and scrap metals.
  

Honorable Mention

Citizens for a Better Environment, Minneapolis

Citizens for a Better Environment's Good Neighbor Project fosters pollution prevention by bringing local citizens together with management at industrial facilities to set common goals for reductions in toxics use.

Since 1991, the Good Neighbor Project has worked with citizens, labor unions, state and local officials, and business managers in 21 Minnesota communities. To date, two of the nine plants that have participated in Good Neighbor dialogues have signed Good Neighbor agreements demonstrating their commitment to pollution prevention. Through its Good Neighbor project, CBE has worked to build community awareness of pollution prevention while encouraging non-adversarial communication and cooperation between businesses and local residents.

Updated August 1998