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News Releases from Region 02

EPA Recognizes Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory for Saving Resources and Taxpayer Money

07/12/2017
Contact Information: 
Tayler Covington (covington.tayler@epa.gov)
212-637-3662

(New York, N.Y.) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes the efforts of federal facilities that took steps to improve efficiency, save resources and reduce costs as part of the Federal Green Challenge (FGC).

“Federal agencies across the country are doing their part to minimize their environmental impact, in doing so saving American taxpayers millions of dollars,” EPA Administrator Pruitt said. “Their efforts resulted in an estimated cost savings of $17 million across the federal government.”

Through their involvement, FGC participants reduced the federal government’s environmental impact by reducing fuel oil consumption by more than 500,000 gallons, sending 310 tons of end-of-life electronics to third-party certified recyclers, saving 9.2 million gallons of industrial water, and diverting over 336,000 tons of waste from landfills.

FGC, now in its fifth year, is a yearlong commitment under EPA's Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Program in which participants focus on efficiently managing their resources to reduce the costs of building operations, maintenance and supplies. Specifically, participants track their data in two of six categories for a year.

EPA has awarded the following participant for its efforts at waste reduction at its facility in Fiscal Year 2016:

Department of Energy, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) Princeton, NJ

2016 FGC Regional Award for the Waste Category

From 2015 to 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy, at its Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, achieved a 13% increase in its recycling rate and saved more than $250,000 by diverting 3,766 tons of waste from landfills, which included the composting of waste.

Photo courtesy of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

“This award recognizes PPPL’s sustained commitment to improving its environmental performance,” said Terry Brog, interim director of PPPL. “As a national laboratory in the energy sector, our Lab and its people value environmental stewardship. We constantly look at what we buy, what we recycle, and how we dispose of waste such that it has become a fundamental part of how we operate. We are pleased that the EPA recognizes our efforts. It is testament that we are doing the right thing.” 

For more information on the Federal Green Challenge and this year’s winners, please visit www.epa.gov/fgc

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