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WASHOE COUNTY HONORED AS EPA'S WASTEWISE PARTNER OF THE YEAR

Release Date: 10/18/1999
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, 415-744-1588

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS

     SAN FRANCISCO -- Washoe County has been named the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 1999 WasteWise Partner of the Year for conducting exceptional waste prevention programs and demonstrating excellence and innovation in recycling collection. The Washoe County government's 2,500 employees in Reno reused thousands of large mailing envelopes for internal mail, saving about $50,000. The county agency also conserved 900 cases of tires by returning worn tires to be retreaded for nonsteering wheels of trucks, saving about $250,000. The EPA launched WasteWise in January 1994 as a voluntary partnership program to help businesses and institutions find practical methods for reducing municipal solid waste. By joining the program, WasteWise partners commit to implementing waste reduction activities in three program areas: waste prevention, recycling collection, and the buying or manufacturing of recycled-content products. During the first five years of the program, WasteWise partners have reduced more than 26 million tons of municipal solid waste. For information on how an  organization can join WasteWise, call 1-800-EPA-WISE.